The rising occurrence of high-profile security hacks and privacy breaches, as well as being personally victimized, are contributing to ever-increasing consumer anxiety about smart home devices and platforms, according to new research.
Parks Associates’ latest quarterly survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households found that almost half of consumers rank data security and privacy issues as their greatest concerns about connecting devices to the Internet, compared to other problems they may encounter, such as with tech support. Forty percent of the respondents say they have experienced a privacy or security problem with a connected device in the past year, most commonly viruses and malware.
“Our most recent data reveals that almost half of U.S. broadband households are ‘very concerned’ [rating 6-7 on a 7-point scale] about hackers getting control of connected devices and hackers getting access to data from the device,” says Parks Associates Research Analyst Brad Russell. “In tracing trending changes on these consumer attitudes from 2014 to 2016, we find that while the total share of consumers who are ‘concerned’ [rating 5-7] has not appreciably changed, the share of those that are ‘very concerned’ has grown by 6% to 7%. Similarly, the share of consumers who are ‘not concerned [rating 1-3] has shrunk by about half.”
From the article "Network Security: Hacking Fears Could Scare Consumers Away from Smart-Home Devices" by Rodney Bosch.
Smart home products provide us with numerous benefits to make our lives more convenient. However, that convenience can come with a price. It’s no secret that in spite of the benefits of smart home...
What accomplishments are you most proud of in your career? I love working with people long term in an environment where hard work breeds success, customer service stands out, and where I can feel t...
"In my previous column, I mentioned some of the world-class technologies highlighted at Parks Associates’ CONNECTIONS Conference held in Frisco, Texas, in May. One of the presentations that caught my...
CE research data from Parks Associates finds 36% of US broadband households who returned a specified CE or smart home device in the last 12 months cited difficulty in setup, installation, and usage as...
