Avast Study: 59.7% of Home Routers Have Security Issues

According to a report published by Avast, 59.7% of routers used in home networks have security problems due to unpatched vulnerabilities or the use of weak passwords. The study analyzed the security of devices in home networks and smart home systems, revealing significant risks for many households.

Key Findings

• Vulnerable Devices: 40.8% of all home networks contain at least one device with vulnerabilities that could compromise the entire network if exploited.
• Causes of Vulnerabilities: 69.2% of vulnerable devices are at risk due to weak access credentials, such as simple or default passwords. The remaining 31.8% are vulnerable because of outdated firmware.

Vulnerable Device Types by Category

The most common vulnerable devices found in home networks are:

• Printers (32.9%)
• Network devices such as switches (28.9%)
• Security cameras (20.8%)
• Network-attached storage (NAS) devices (7.8%)
• Multimedia players (5.3%)

Breakdown by Country

In the United States, the distribution of vulnerable devices is as follows:

• Printers: 40.8%
• NAS devices: 17.7%
• Cameras: 14.7%
• Network devices: 14.6%
• Multimedia systems: 3.7%

In Russia, the breakdown is:

• Printers: 45%
• Cameras: 22.9%
• Network devices: 17.3%
• TVs: 6.1%
• NAS devices: 4.4%
• Multimedia systems: 2.5%

Device Popularity in Home Networks

The study also provides statistics on the popularity of different device types in home networks. 40.3% of all surveyed home networks have more than five digital devices connected.

In Russia, the most common networked devices are:

• Smart TVs (46.4%)
• Printers (15.4%)
• Cameras (11.2%)
• Multimedia systems (8.9%)
• Tablets (8.3%)
• Network devices (4.3%)
• Game consoles (3.7%)
• NAS devices (0.9%)
• IP telephony systems (0.5%)
• Audio equipment (0.3%)

In the United States, the most common devices are:

• Multimedia systems (31.1%)
• Printers (23.7%)
• Tablets (10.3%)
• TVs (10.2%)
• Game consoles (8.9%)
• Voice assistants (5.3%)
• Audio equipment (3.1%)
• Cameras (2.6%)
• Network devices (0.7%)
• Lighting control systems (0.8%)

Study Methodology

The data was collected by scanning the addresses of 16 million home networks. In total, 56 million devices and 11 million home routers were identified. The scans were performed by users who voluntarily ran the Avast Wi-Fi Inspector application on their home computers.