The world gets smarter every day. From homes and cars to teddy bears and baby monitors, technology integrated with the Internet of Things has become the undeniably path of progress for the foreseeable future. And while a connected world provides the convenience promised by technology for years, it also opens the door for hackers to access a wide range of personal information. This makes protecting yourself from cyber attacks a huge priority for people of all ages. Unfortunately, the younger ones don’t really see the problem.
According to a recent survey from The App Factor, young people (age 18-34) are the most likely to believe that hacking technology is impossible. Whether its smart cars, smart doorbells, or smart guns, respondents from this age group insisted that security is the last thing on their mind. And they couldn’t be more wrong.
When it comes to smart technology, pretty much everything can be (and already has been) hacked. Unfortunately, these kinds of hacks are unlikely to be on their radar, resulting in the notable lack of knowledge. Because larger corporate hacks are the only thing making headlines, it could be a while before this age group catches up to the importance of cyber security.
“When it comes to hacking, sometimes it’s the major breaches that get all the attention. Like Target or Home Depot, when millions of people are impacted, hacks make headlines,” wrote the authors of the study. “The truth is that hackers could be targeting far more intimate access points when it comes to stealing and exploiting personal data.”
Now, to be fair, older age groups are likely responding negatively due to paranoia rather than comprehensive data when they insist all these devices can be hacked. However, in this situation, a little paranoia can go a long way to ensuring your personal information stays safe from hackers.
If you want to see how these specific age groups stacked up when it comes to the security of smart devices, take a look at the infographic below and check out the full report here.
Read more about the importance of cyber security on TechCo
