Thirty Percent of Home Networks at Serious Risk of Cyberattack
Thirty percent of home Internet networks are at serious risk for cyberattacks, according to a recent computer security trial conducted by the online theft protection company Kindsight.
The trial analyzed the risks of 200,000 subscribers to an unspecified North American Internet service provider (ISP) over a 30-day period.
While computer users are often warned about the dangers of phishing scams and surfing the Web over unsecured public Wi-Fi networks, this study shed new light on the risks many face in the supposed safety of their own home.
Brendan Ziolo is the vice president of marketing at Kindsight. He said his company expected home networks to contain "a level of insecurity," given the amount of precautions a person must take in creating a strong defense against cyber-threats.
"There are a lot of things you need to do to keep your computer safe," Ziolo told SecurityNewsDaily. "You have to update your firewall, make sure your antivirus is kept up to date, and make sure your modem and router are secure – that’s a lot to ask of an average consumer.”
A prominent reason home networks are open to attack, Ziolo said, is because security solutions that work for large businesses aren’t usually offered for home consumers, at least not in a cost-effective package. Kindsight, in contrast, can be installed at no cost, Ziolo said.
Another reason it’s crucial that home consumers better protect their networks is that the days of a single home computer are long gone.
"There used to be one PC in the home but that’s no longer the case," Ziolo said. "Now there are multiple computer and devices like smartphones and gaming systems. The home network is becoming big and sophisticated, and it’d be great if they could have the same security as large networks."
