Secure your privacy on new smart home devices, experts warn

TAMPA, Fla. - Smart home devices were one of this season's most popular Christmas gifts, but bringing them into your home can open your family up to privacy risks if you don't set them up safely and securely.

"It's another way for people to just have access to what they want to if they know how to outsmart the system," Tampa resident Eric Lane said.

Many hackers do outsmart the system. For example, a family in Tennessee says a hacker hacked into their camera and microphone and was able to taunt their daughter through the Ring camera in the girl's bedroom.

"The single most dangerous connected device in your home is your wifi router because if somebody gets access to that they have access to every connected device that's touching that," the chief digital officer at The Symphony Agency, Chris Jenkins said.

Jenkins says any time you're setting up a new device, its default settings should be changed immediately to make them less vulnerable. Many hackers target users using default logins and passwords. You should also change your wifi network name and password and never use the same password for multiple services or devices.

"Absolutely change it if you run into any sort of situation where you are notified of a breach of any account using that same password," Jenkins said.

If the device allows, require a 2-step verification when logging in. Jenkins says in the future he hopes companies make privacy more of a priority.

"Technology, in general, is a complex topic and it's really irresponsible of us to expect consumers to be educated enough to do that. The industry really needs to take the lead in making security better out of the box," Jenkins said.

If you think you may have been hacked, turn off your devices, reset your passwords and report it to the company before going forward with turning the system back on.