Page 210 - Cyber Defense eMagazine April 2023

remotely turning on and streaming video from smart cameras. Now there is a growing awareness that despite the
prevalence of smart home devices for the purpose of protecting homes against theft, damage, or accidents, smart
home devices also represent a real risk in terms of lowering personal data security. When it comes to protecting
the entire connected home, home security dovetails neatly with personal privacy in a way that makes the meaningful
expansion of peace-of-mind offerings the next logical step in the evolution of device protection services. In this
context, home security providers are well positioned to devise combined bundles of device protection plans and
data privacy services, thereby allowing them to leverage their skills, assets, and service relationships founded on
trust with customers that provide them with the right to make these offers. The long-term consequences of this
development include lowering the barrier to wider smart device adoption, an increased positive perception of
product value, and increased consumer confidence when it comes to adopting new products.

Data security and privacy: ensuring future smart home success.

The majority of consumers are concerned about data security, and their concern is warranted and supports their
need to be vigilant. Parks Associates found that of the consumers they polled during the course of their research,
approximately one-half of those with connected devices have experienced at least one data privacy and security
issue. As device users continue to accumulate products to build-out their connected homes, the risk of becoming a
target for acts of privacy invasion or a victim of hacking also rises. The natural fears related to this evolution are
also supported by the research, with almost three-quarters of households signaling concern or high concern about
the presence of spyware and viruses finding their way onto their smart devices and subsequent malicious
interference and disruption.

As the consumer data highlights, a typical home has 16 connected devices with smart home device owners owning
an average of eight smart home devices in total. While the increased adoption of such devices is a positive
development for the broader connected home market, integrating a growing number into one’s smart home set-up
also adds to the level of risk and the number of problems experienced. In fact, for those with multiple smart home
devices, the higher the anxiety about data privacy tends to be.

Clearly, with the rapidly developing connected device environment taking shape and the inevitable corresponding
emergence of threats, it’s time to rethink the comprehensive security and device protections on offer.

New solutions to old problems

The existence of real concerns regarding privacy and unauthorized access to smart devices have the power to
stymie the connected smart home dream before it really has a chance to take flight. For this reason, leading tech
giants, OEMs, and other disruptive smart device start-ups need to address the issues head on and come up with
satisfactory and practical solutions to guarantee that consumer data remains fully protected at all times. And with
concerns over data vulnerability and privacy serving as a barrier to consumers acquiring devices, cybersecurity and
similar holistic protection features could be instrumental in enticing “on-the-fence” customers to explore and commit
to device purchases that will allow them to embrace the connected home model. The addition of a monitoring
subscription on top of such purchases could make all the difference in terms of winning the hearts and minds of
consumers.

The companies that are now tentatively investigating the opportunity of value-added services to serve the smart
home market need to think strategically when conceptualizing and devising these new offerings. As the objective is

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