Cyber Security at Home - What Really Matters to People

Abstract

With the growing use of IoT devices in the private domain, people's homes become increasingly connected to and reachable via the Internet. This is convenient, but also makes homes vulnerable and introduces security risks that go beyond classical IT issues. Cyber threats evolve to cyberphysical ones, opening new pathways for cybercriminals. In practice, most cybercrime attacks happen because of the failure to recognize and deal with (technical as well as human) security gaps and operating errors. There is no lack of technological means and advice to ensure secure operation of systems, but it is usually people with technical background who define these concepts only/mainly based on technical reasoning. The actual users are rarely figured in, which increases the probability that security measures are not practical. This paper reports on a multidisciplinary study on the use of smart devices as well as perception of and experience with Internet security in Austrian households. Contrary to usual engineering approaches, the study was designed to be quantitative and representative according to social science research principles. It revealed that the use of smart devices in private homes is still relatively low and that security incidents are less frequent than might be suspected, but that users also have an ambivalent perception of (in)security.