A recent report by Parks Associate Inc. revealed that 47 percent of U.S. broadband households have privacy or security concerns about smart home devices, and these concerns are only heightened with recent reports of baby monitors and web cameras being hacked.

Tom Kerber, Director of Research, Home Controls & Energy, Parks Associates recommends that companies need to reinforce the security of the connected products they offer, as well as ensure that consumers’ privacy is protected.

The report also stated that consumers will be more at ease using these smart home solutions if the companies offering these solutions offer a bill of rights that allows them to remain invisible, approve who uses the data and what data is to be erased.

“Finding the right balance between ease-of-use and security is a challenge in designing and deploying smart home products,” said Maia Hinkle, Research Analyst, Parks Associates. “Consumers do not want to have to enter a password just to turn on a light, so the market needs solutions that are cross-platform and user friendly. Consumers expect convenience and control both with their smart devices and the data that the devices produce.”

From the article "Wink’s smart home outage and other automation woes" by Mellisa Tolentino.

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