UK HOMES ARE PACKED WITH SMART DEVICES BUT MANY ARE UNSECURE

The vast majority of homes in the UK are, slowly but surely, becoming smart homes with each family owning five smart home devices on average.

Despite the number of internet of things (IoT) devices around UK homes, only 15 per cent of UK families use software or apps to protect the technology they have in their homes, according to a Censuswide survey of 2,005 parents with children under 18, commissioned by Open-Xchange. Meanwhile, 67 per cent use anti-virus software to protect only their desktop devices, and 17 per cent don’t use any protection at all.

Alongside the lack of families utilising security technology, 28 per cent of them have no intention of strengthening their security measures even in light of the various data breaches recently. Meanwhile, 41 per cent say they are either not very concerned or not concerned at all about the risk of a cyber-attack.

When it comes to their children, parents tend to change their tune regarding security, however. 85 per cent say they would like more control over the websites their children have access to and 80 per cent of parents would like more control over how much time their children spend online. Furthermore, 63 per cent have concerns about their children being distracted by the internet during homework time.