2018 has been a good year for the IoT market. According to Gartner, IoT devices are forecast to be in the region of 20.8 billion globally by 2020. In 2019 investment will near $1.3 trillion at an annual growth rate of 17%. From tablets to watercoolers, seemingly every household item is finding itself IoT enabled, and there are no signs of slowing down.
But with the average smart home now comprised of at least 20 smart devices, serious questions emerge about security awareness. As our home fills up with gaming consoles, baby monitors and smart TVs, a frighteningly high proportion of these IoT device are sold without in-built security systems.
As part of Bitdefender’s yearly analysis of security, the company has made some disturbing discoveries on just how vulnerable the average smart home is. Below are some key statistics from the report:
- 60 percent of consumers have never performed any firmware updates on their wireless router
- 55 percent of smart TV users have never performed a firmware update
- 7 out of 10 consumers at least one camera connected to the Internet through a vulnerable router
- 61 percent consumers sensitive files and documents on their personal computer/laptop
