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Smart Home Users' Security and Privacy Perceptions and Actions Differ By Device Category: Results from a Representative U.S. Survey
DescriptionThere are few insights into how users’ perspectives on smart home security and privacy differ depending on category (type) of device. This may leave the smart home community -- including manufacturers and cybersecurity product labeling program administrators -- at a disadvantage in knowing how to focus user education efforts to address device-specific misunderstandings or concerns. As a result, consumers may remain uninformed or lack motivation to protect device categories they consider less valuable, leaving their devices and data vulnerable. Towards closing this gap, we conducted a between-subjects survey of 401 U.S. smart home users – representing the diversity of the U.S. population in age, education, race, ethnicity, and gender – with devices in five categories: voice assistants, thermostats, security devices, environmental sensors, and lighting. We found a number of statistically significant differences in participants’ smart home security and privacy perceptions, actions, and intentions to use security and privacy information across device categories. Participants considered voice assistants to be most problematic and were most confident about smart security devices and thermostats. Further, we found novel results related to lack of trust of lighting device manufacturers and general comfort with the security and privacy of smart sensors. Our identification of differences across devices can inform smart home device manufacturers and security label administrators to go beyond generic guidance by tailoring education materials to address the specific risks, security and privacy features, and expected user protective actions for individual device categories.
Event Type
Late Breaking Results
TimeThursday, September 12th3:50pm - 4pm MST
LocationFLW Salon D