In the light of increasing digitalization, consumers are confronted with new challenges regarding the IT-security of their devices. Against this background, ConPolicy conducted a representative online survey on behalf of the DIN Consumer Council (DIN-VR) on the topic of consumer security knowledge and behavior in the digital space. Additionally, the consumers’ wishes for a further development of the framework conditions and support measures were investigated. The study was published on February 21, 2023.
The results show that IT-security labels generally help consumers when purchasing IoT devices. Consumers are also willing to take a high degree of personal responsibility for the security of their IoT devices. Furthermore, consumers wish for stricter rules in the approval of devices and the banning of unsafe devices. Overall, consumers want more transparency about the security of digital devices.
Dr. Christiane Rohleder, State Secretary at the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Nuclear Safety and Consumer Protection (BMUV), commented: "The DIN Consumer Council study shows that consumers want to be able to rely on the safety of digital devices. Therefore, in addition to transparency, 'security by design' is also central. Security must already be taken into account in the design and default settings of digital devices."
Dr. Alexander Goschew, DIN Consumer Council, said: "Our study underlines the importance of more transparency in IT security of consumer devices, for example through the use of easily understandable security labels."
Further information on the project can be found here.
The results of the study can be found here.
The press information by BMUV and DIN Consumer Council can be found here.