Comcast, the largest broadband provider in the U.S. with 27 million Internet customer households, conducted a survey in September 2020 involving 1,000 US adults about their perceptions regarding cyber threats against their connected devices in their homes.
95% of survey respondents grossly underestimated the volume of attacks they face each month – on average, respondents believed they faced 12 attacks monthly, while Comcast blocked approximately 104 cybersecurity threats monthly per household.
85% of respondents indicated they are taking all the necessary security precautions needed to protect their home networks. And yet, a clear majority of respondents (64%) admitted to behaviours that open themselves up to attack, like reusing and sharing passwords.
There was also a disconnect between respondent perception and reality about which of the devices in their home were most likely to give cybercriminals access to their home network, underestimating the risk associated with cameras, and networked-storage and streaming video devices.
The users in the survey have an average of 12 devices per household and added on average 2 devices over the past year. Some high-end users have as many as 33 devices and added 5 since last year.
Connected-home devices are more vulnerable to potential compromise than PCs, yet respondents indicated that they feel confident that most connected home devices are protected from most cyber threats. At least, 93% indicated that security is somewhat important to their purchasing decisions.
You can download the Comcast Xfinity Cyber Health Report at https://corporate.comcast.com/cyber-health-report.
