Governments practise not have the resources or the speed required to react to cybercrime. In almost cases, businesses lack the incentives to focus on this topic. Consumers think they should exist responsible for their own safety online, but almost do not have the knowledge or motivation to tackle it.

What can we do to protect users and businesses, and who should take charge?

The continued experience today

Half the earth's population is online and leaving behind an ever-growing digital footprint. Around 89% of Americans and 70% of Europeans use the internet daily, and the global cyberspace penetration rate continues to increase rapidly. Research business firm Gartner predicts that more than 20 billion consumer IoT devices will be in apply by 2020.

According to our own research, American homes already contain on average 17-18 devices, and that number is expected to grow in upcoming years. Parks Associates enquiry shows that 32% of US households with broadband own at least i connected device, and 50% intend to buy a smart dwelling house device in the next year.

In fact today nosotros are hyper-connected, argues Jon Ramsey, main technology officeholder at cybersecurity firm Secureworks:

"Today a person has 2 or three dozen sensors on them. A modern-mean solar day car has 500 sensors in information technology, [at that place are] 600 sensors in the modernistic abode, 6,000 sensors in a modern airplane. All of these things are generating information."

While IoT usage has been growing exponentially over the final few years, the scale of IoT adoption and device interoperability has created an insecure surround that is more vulnerable to personal data leaks.

This year, data breaches take afflicted a staggering number of people worldwide

Prototype: Statista

Privacy issues

Data breaches have become both more mutual and more severe. The World Economic Forum'south Global Risks Report 2018 ended that cyber attacks that were previously considered large-calibration are today seen as normal. Hackers are more agile, The threats are condign more sophisticated; hackers are increasingly agile and are using advanced technology, such as machine learning, to launch attacks.

In contempo years, numerous bug have arisen around the way enterprises treat their users' information. Personal information is processed for political and economical reasons without users' consent, equally happened in the Cambridge Analytica scandal. IBM estimates that the cost of a information breach involving more than l million records is $350M.

According to the Globe Economic Forum, cyber attacks and data fraud are the most likely global risks. Eurobarometer supports this conclusion: 87% of Europeans run across cybercrime as an important challenge.

During the G20 Pinnacle in 2017, world leaders emphasized the necessity of trust in digital technologies - including consumer protection, intellectual property rights, transparency and security.

Governments are reacting slowly

The European union is leading the user privacy word with its General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which has built a potent legal foundation for securing end-user information in Europe.

In the U.s., device privacy laws vary depending on the sector, state or data blazon. Recently, California implemented a new law that governs IoT security on a land level. Applied science leaders, meanwhile, are pushing for federal privacy laws, and are starting time to encounter privacy every bit a man right.

IoT device manufacturers are forced to comply with these new laws and ensure "privacy by pattern". However, this process can nowadays financial and technological problems that non every manufacturer is able to address - which means users' information is not e'er secure.

User expectations

Research shows that consumer attitudes toward digital security are changing every bit people go more aware of online threats. Recent reports advise the chief problems troubling connected consumers business concern the safe of their personal data.

According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 93% of users proper noun privacy and security as 1 of their top concerns. Eurobarometer - which carries out public opinion surveys on behalf of the European Commission - found that 86% of people believe they are at an increased risk of becoming victims of cybercrime.

Consumers are as well beginning to meet IoT devices not only as a valuable nugget but also equally a threat to their privacy. Device security has get a risk that might pb to privacy breaches - and consumers are becoming increasingly aware of these threats.

A report by The Economist found that 75% of IoT device owners rate device privacy features as 'very important'. According to a November 2018 survey by CUJO AI of more than two,600 customers, 77.5% are worried near unauthorized access to their devices. Gigya, meanwhile, reports that 73% of consumers are 'very concerned' or 'concerned' about IoT device security.

A recent survey by Princeton Academy revealed that device users are "skeptical of privacy risks from devices that do not record audio or video, such as light bulbs and thermostats".

To brand sure these issues are managed in the future, consumers are starting to hash out their expectations for the next generation of continued devices.

Who is responsible for information security?

Today, in that location is no consensus on who is responsible for information privacy. Some consumers agree that the responsibility lies with them, but others think governments or businesses are better equipped to deal with this complex issue.

According to PwC, consumers expect companies to protect their data proactively; 92% of consumers say companies must be proactive about data protection, 82% concord that the government should regulate how companies use individual information, and 72% think that businesses, non the government, are all-time equipped to protect them.

Co-ordinate to Gigya's written report, meanwhile, 63% of people believe that individuals themselves are responsible for their data, while 19% recollect that the responsibility lies with brands and 18% believe governments should take the atomic number 82 in protecting users.

Research by GDMA shows unlike results, with 38% of respondents saying consumers are responsible for their data, with 15% who await governments to step up. Simply v% believe that businesses and organizations should be accountable.

Only the GDMA study concludes that 35% of people believe this issue requires a combined attempt from consumers, governments and brands. The Economist Intelligence Unit of measurement report shows that 31% of people surveyed expect device manufacturers and service providers to collaborate with governments and uphold privacy standards.

Who should be responsible for data privacy?

Who should be responsible for information privacy?

Epitome: Gigya

Consumers are non protecting themselves

Many internet users believe they themselves accept the ultimate responsibility for their data security. According to a Eurobarometer study, however, fewer than half of people take even basic precautions online. Around 45% have either installed antivirus software or upgraded their existing package; 39% restrict the amount of information they give out on websites, and 35% open emails simply if they know the source.

The situation is only slightly improved when information technology comes to password security. The Gigya report revealed that seventy% of people apply seven or fewer passwords across their online accounts. Eurobarometer concluded that 62% of people had inverse their passwords for at to the lowest degree i online service during the last 12 months.

Connected consumers are starting to take more precautions, all the same. With no adequate privacy and security bachelor on personal or governmental levels, they begin to consider if the tradeoff between privacy and convenience is worth information technology.

Some users have begun to avoid sharing their information, either past opting out of various online services or thinking twice before ownership an IoT device. Eurobarometer reveals that 87% of users avoid disclosing their personal information online, while 39% reduced the personal information they give out on websites. One in ten respondents has opted out of online cyberbanking birthday.

Connected users see the value of information privacy and security, but information technology's a concern that should be tackled with a combined effort from governments, businesses and users alike.