Only 42% of Consumers Take Needed Steps to Secure Connected Devices, Intel Says

Only 42 percent of consumers who responded to an Intel Security survey said they take proper measures to ensure their connected devices’ cybersecurity. Consumers are aware it’s important to secure their devices but 47 percent of respondents indicated they were unsure whether they were taking the correct cybersecurity measures, Intel said Sunday. OnePoll queried 9,800 consumers at Intel’s request for the survey. There's increased interest from Capitol Hill on connected devices’ cybersecurity. Two House Commerce Committee subcommittees sought a potential middle ground last week on addressing IoT cybersecurity in response to last month's distributed denial of service attacks against Dyn (see 1610210056, 1610260067 and 1611160051), which Oracle is now buying (see 1611210047). “Unsurprisingly, connected devices remain high on holiday wish lists this year,” said Intel Security Chief Consumer Security Evangelist Gary Davis in a news release. “What is alarming is that consumers remain unaware of what behaviors pose a security risk when it comes to new devices.” Consumers “are often eager to use their new gadget as soon as they get it and forgo ensuring that their device is properly secured,” Davis said. “Cybercriminals could use this lack of attention as an inroad to gather personal consumer data, exposing consumers to malware or identity theft or even use unsecured devices to launch DDoS attacks as in the recent Dyn attack.”