A new Kaspersky survey exploring the use of smart home devices and attitudes toward their security reveals more than half (68%) of consumers surveyed in South Africa who own this equipment feel responsible for its cybersecurity. Millennials aged 25-34 care most about the protection of smart devices in their home.
The global smart home industry highlights rapid consumer growth, building expectations with market analysts, with some segments such as smart security systems and smart locks expected to more than double to $106,3-billion and $13,1-billion by 2030, respectively. The new Kaspersky report unveils how increasing use of smart devices affects users’ attitude toward security and protection issues.
The willingness to accept responsibility for the protection of smart gadgets at home can be explained by fears of being hacked. The survey shows that more than half of users surveyed in South Africa worried about their home network being hacked (57%), and Wi-Fi router or Internet-connected camera system spying on them (54%).
The biggest concerns were raised about security of home monitoring systems (50%), Internet-connected cameras (43%) and smart doors and locks (46%), with about a third of users admitting to being very concerned about their security and protection. Thus, 50% of monitoring/security system users admitted to being “very concerned” about their gadgets’ security and protection. An additional 40% were either “concerned” or “somewhat concerned”.
The list of worrisome gadgets includes Internet-connected cameras for monitoring babies and pets and smart doors and locks, with 43% and 46% locally saying their security is a “very concerning issue” in their opinion.
Among the devices that cause users least trouble are smart cleaning devices such as vacuum cleaners connected to the Internet, with 30% saying their security doesn’t concern them at all. The same stands for climate control systems (22%) and smart lighting (32%).
“As smart device adoption rates grow, we see users are paying more attention to security considerations and are trying to ensure a painless experience as they build long-term relationships with their gadgets,” comments Marina Titova, vice-president: consumer product marketing at Kaspersky.
“It looks like good digital habits are more inherent in millennials, which is a positive sign for cybersecurity. This also suggests that in future, we might see IoT device producers and Internet service providers supporting their work by paying more attention to cybersecurity, possibly integrating cybersecurity features to their offering, to meet consumers’ expectations and provide them with a desired level of protection.”