While the Internet of Things grows,
privacy – or the lack of it – is what drives concern about its growth.
Privacy is at the top of a long list of IoT concerns in a new global study.
The study comprised a
survey of 5,200 mobile media users in eight countries (Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, South Africa, UK and US) conducted by On Device Research for the Mobile Ecosystems Forum
(MEF), a global trade body.
Globally, 62% of people are concerned about privacy relating to the Internet of Things, and even more (70%) in the U.S.
The majority (60%) of consumers are
concerned by a world where everyday objects are connected to each other as well as to the Internet.
Here’s what concerns people about a world of connected devices:
- 62% --
Privacy
- 54% -- Security
- 27% -- Physical safety
- 24%-- Unable to repair
- 21% -- Machines taking over the earth
- 17% -- Not knowing how to use them
- 11% -- No tangible benefits
In terms of which connected objects would most concern consumers, home security leads the list, followed by connected cars and televisions.
While
connecting security systems to public networks allows owners to monitor their homes remotely, it also opens the door to potential security breaches. Home invasion was found to be the biggest concern
globally (30%) with people worrying that others could open the doors to their house (15%). More than third (36%) in the U.S. were concerned about potential home invasion via IoT technology.
And then there are the connected things themselves. Here are the objects that consumers would be most concerned about being connected to the Internet:
- 30% -- Home security
- 12% -- Car
- 10% -- TV
- 6% -- Iron
- 6% -- Heating syste,
- 6% -- Smoke detector
- 5% -- Oven
- 5% -- Lighting
It’s not really
the actual connecting of the things that presents the biggest challenges of the Internet of Things. It’s more the results that occur from connecting all of the things.