Survey Says Half of Americans Don't Want IoT Devices, Thanks to Security Concerns

As I’ve written again and again, consumers don’t trust the IoT. The recent Mirai and SSH problems have thrown that into stark relief, and now there’s some evidence (other than the flat sales figures) that shows I’m probably right.

In support of National Cyber Security Awareness Month, IT security firm ESET and the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) have released a survey that shows Americans have concerns about the security and privacy of connected devices and the Internet of Things (IoT).

The survey measured people's perspectives and concerns about cybersecurity as it relates to connected items in our lives, such as routers, webcams and IoT devices.

The survey titled “Our Increasingly Connected Digital Lives” revealed that more than 40 percent of Americans are not confident that IoT devices are safe and secure, with more than half of people indicating they were discouraged from purchasing an IoT device due to cybersecurity concerns.

With routers being the hub in the home that data flows through, the majority of people surveyed have not taken some basic precautions; only half of respondents indicated they had changed their home router password from its default setting. Twenty-nine percent of people had 4 to 7 devices connected to their home router, and what’s more, an additional 15 percent do not even know how many devices were connected.

For the full survey results, methodology and the downloadable “Internet of Stranger Things” infographic, click here.

The point is: we in the IoT industry have had a security and trust problem for some time and now our poorly prepared chickens are coming home to roost. It’s time to get our houses in order or we’re going to find many of us out of jobs and out of an industry.