90% of consumers lack confidence in the security of IoT devices, want ecosystem regulated

Connected devices are flying off the shelves these days, suggesting consumers are either gullible or completely oblivious to the risks posed by some of these products. As it turns out, at least some customers are well aware of the risks involved by the unregulated IoT ecosystem, but they choose convenience over security.

A recent security study conducted by Gemalto found that 90 percent of consumers lack confidence in the security of IoT devices. Only half of IoT vendors have adopted a “security by design” approach to building their products, despite serious legal rattle surrounding this concept.

65 percent of consumers are most concerned with a hacker controlling their IoT device or having their data stolen (60 percent). At the same time, 54 percent of consumers own an average of four IoT devices, but only 14 percent feel they are on top of IoT security matters. However, the vast majority of IoT users (96 percent of businesses, 90 percent of consumers) agree that there should be IoT security regulations. And 61 percent of businesses feel IoT regulations should include who is responsible for securing data at each stage of the journey.

The notion of a government-regulated IoT ecosystem is far from new. A study of 1,000+ US adults conducted by Market Strategies International at the start of the year found that people who are either aware of or use IoT gadgets want the government to regulate these products. BlackBerry CSO Alex Manea too agrees that governments should step up their game in the IoT space.

Finally, the UK has already made inroads into regulating the IoT space by incorporating the concept of “security by design” – a core principle of modern data protection regulations – into upcoming legislation, likely post-Brexit.

However, users still have a ways to go before they fully comprehend the responsibility they too have in determining the safety of a connected product – such as a baby monitor with default credentials, or a flawed smart security camera.

Earlier this year, a study by business solutions vendor CSG revealed the regular user’s “understanding, usage and sentiment about current and future IoT applications.” Among the key findings was that users see convenience as the primary benefit of the trend that is the Internet of Things.

“As the IoT gets more complex, consumers want life to get easier. While many IoT devices coming to market today offer cutting-edge advancements or entertaining attributes, consumers want the IoT to have practical application. In fact, the majority (60 percent) of consumers see the biggest value of the IoT in making life easier,” surveyors said at the time.