Most people don’t think twice about the TV mounted on the wall. It plays Netflix, it shows the game, and on Monday mornings it might display the sales dashboard in the conference room. But if it’s a smart TV, it’s also a microphone, a camera, and an internet-connected computer sitting on your network, and it’s probably one of the least protected devices you own.
That’s not a reason to panic. It’s a reason to spend ten minutes in your TV’s settings menu. Here’s why, and exactly what to do.
Why smart TVs are such an easy target
Smart TVs run apps, connect to the internet, and in many cases have always-on voice features that are constantly listening for commands. Unlike your phone or computer, they rarely get updated, and most people never change the default settings out of the box.
That combination makes them an easy target. If a cybercriminal gets into your smart TV, they can activate the camera or microphone without your knowledge. From there, they can potentially work their way into other devices on the same network: laptops, phones, file storage, anything sharing the Wi-Fi.
This matters at the office, where TVs in lobbies and meeting rooms often sit on the same network as company data. And it matters just as much at home, where remote and hybrid work means your work laptop may be sharing Wi-Fi with a TV nobody has updated since the day it was unboxed.
How to lock it down
The fix isn’t complicated, but it does take a few deliberate steps:
- Update the firmware regularly. Manufacturers release security patches the same way your phone does, but your TV won’t always remind you to install them. Check for updates manually in the settings menu, and put a recurring reminder on the calendar.
- Turn off features you don’t use. If you’re not using the built-in camera, voice recognition, or microphone, disable them. There’s no reason to leave them on and available.
- Be selective about apps. Only download from the official app store, review what permissions each app requests, and delete anything you no longer use.
- Use strong, unique passwords for every streaming account, and never reuse them across services. A password manager makes this painless.
- Lock down the Wi-Fi. A strong network password and modern encryption mean that even if someone gets in through the TV, they hit another wall before reaching anything important.
- Limit browsing on the TV itself. A smart TV’s web browser has far fewer security protections than your phone or computer. When in doubt, browse on a different device.
One more step worth taking
Share this with anyone in your household or on your team who uses a smart TV, which, at this point, is most of us. The steps above take a few minutes per TV, and most of them only need to be done once.
And if the TV is one connected device you’d overlooked, it’s worth asking what else might be quietly sitting on your network: printers, cameras, thermostats, door controllers. Keeping clients ahead of threats like this is part of how we approach Cybersecurity-Driven IT at Vertical IT Solutions. If you’d like to know where your business stands, start with our free 60-second Security Score, or talk to our team. We’re happy to help you find the weak spots before someone else does.
