Gemalto survey confirms that consumers lack confidence in IoT device security

 

Gemalto (Amsterdam, The Netherlands), a leader in digital security solutions, revealed that 90% of consumers lack confidence in the security of Internet of Things (IoT) devices. This comes as more than two thirds of consumers and almost 80% of organisations support governments getting involved in setting IoT security.

"It's clear that both consumers and businesses have serious concerns around IoT security and little confidence that IoT service providers and device manufacturers will be able to protect IoT devices and more importantly the integrity of the data created, stored and transmitted by these devices," said Jason Hart, CTO, data protection at Gemalto. "With legislation like GDPR showing that governments are beginning to recognise the threats and long-lasting damage cyber-attacks can have on everyday lives, they now need to step up when it comes to IoT security. Until there is confidence in IoT amongst businesses and consumers, it won't see mainstream adoption."

Consumers' main fear (cited by two thirds of respondents) is hackers taking control of their device. In fact, this was more of a concern than their data being leaked (60%) and hackers accessing their personal information (54%). Despite more than half (54%) of consumers owning an IoT device (on average two), just 14% believe that they are extremely knowledgeable when it comes to the security of these devices, showing education is needed among both consumers and businesses.

In terms of the level of investment in security, the survey found that IoT device manufacturers and service providers spend just 11% of their total IoT budget on securing their IoT devices. The study found that these companies do recognise the importance of protecting devices and the data they generate or transfer with 50% of companies adopting a security by design approach. Two-thirds (67%) of organisations report encryption as their main method of securing IoT assets with 62% encrypting the data as soon as it reaches their IoT device, while 59% as it leaves the device. 92% of companies also see an increase in sales or product usage after implementing IoT security measures.

Caption: Gemalto’s latest survey discusses security concerns in IoT (photo: Gemalto) 

<< view all news