RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK – Americans with broadband Internet service are growing increasingly concerned about security and privacy with a whopping 75 percent of them planning to sign on for a service offering tools to combat hackers and other threats.
And they plan to do so within the next 12 months.
So reports Parks Associates in a new study. In another recent study, the research firm found that 79 percent of such households had concerns about smart home technology.
Source: Parks Associates
And most of those – or 62 percent – are willing to pay an additional fee for the protection, Parks says. But there are limits on what they will commit to.
Preferences include a subscription, a one-time fee or some kind of warranty.
“Security and privacy services include parental controls, malware detection, and network activity monitoring. While interest is high, consumers still show a reluctance toward recurring fees – only 27% of data security/privacy intenders would opt for a subscription model,” said Lindsay Gafford, Research Analyst at Parks Associates.
“The challenges to securing the smart home will intensify as consumers acquire more devices, creating ample business opportunities throughout the value chain for security solution providers. Vendors can differentiate by providing security expertise and flexible solutions that keep pace with changing security requirements.”
Is a smart home a good idea? Data security worries 79% of consumers
But there also is confusion among consumers.
“Consumers are struggling to understand what services are available to them, which service will actually protect their data, and which services fit into their payment preferences,” Gafford said. “The service potential is immense, and broadband service providers are entering this space by partnering with data security solution providers to provide value-added services for consumers.”
There’s also a big gap already among users of services such as identity theft protection.
“Among all US broadband households, 63% are interested in a solution preventing identity theft, but only 19% actually use identity theft solutions,” Parks says.
Other findings in the study include:
- 40% of consumers do not take any action to protect themselves from unauthorized access to their connected devices.
- Only 15% of consumers strongly believe they receive a lot of benefit in sharing access to their data.
- 63% of US broadband households use at least one data security service for any purpose.
Visit Parks Associates for more details.
