Comcast’s has a new report saying that most people ‘underestimate how often home networks are targeted by Hackers and Malware and suspicious emails requesting personal information.’
These days’ people are using their computers and other connected devices more than ever as people work and go to school from their homes. And today people will likely do a lot of shopping from their homes to take advantage of “Cyber Monday” deals.
But with that said a new report from Comcast says that internet users vastly underestimate how often home networks are targeted by cyber threats.
The company said that was one of the key findings in its first ever “Xfinity Cyber Health Report”, which combines data from a consumer survey collected by the xFi Advanced Security platform.
Comcast said the report outlines observations on the state of cyber security in American homes.
The company said that since January, xFi Advanced Security has blocked nearly six billion cyber security threats – representing an average of about 104 cyber security threats per home per month.
The Xfinity Cyber Health Report summarizes the threats targeting Xfinity Internet customers and the devices in their connected homes. Key report findings include:
Consumers Underestimate Attack Volume
Mix of Devices Most Targeted: The top five most vulnerable devices in connected homes are: 1) Computers and laptops, 2) Smart phones 3) Networked cameras 4) Networked storage devices 5) Streaming video devices
Consumer Disconnect on Cybersafe Behavior: 96 percent of consumers surveyed could not accurately answer six basic cyberthreat questions. Further, a large majority (85 percent) of respondents indicated they are taking all the necessary security precautions needed to protect their home networks, and yet 64 percent admitted to behaviors like sharing passwords with friends and family that open themselves up to attack.
No Screen, No Idea: More than 4 in 5 consumers (83 percent) would not be 100 percent confident they’d know if one of their non-screen devices – such as a wireless printer or security camera – had been hacked.
The most common types of cyber-attacks, according to the report are:
- Unsafe Browsing: This happens when a website tries to download malware or other bad content onto your device.
2.Unauthorized Access: This is when hackers attempt to fraudulently log into your connected devices.
3. Distributed Denial of Services: Bad actors launch large streams of network traffic from “botnets” to overwhelm networks and systems, often as part of blackmail themes. Comprised connected-home devices can be made part of these malicious botnets.
4. Suspicious Device Activity: When devices are hacked, they will behave strangely-communicating back to hackers, etc.
Link Your House is an Xfinity CI Partner and has many solutions to help make your network safe and secure.
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