Providing market intelligence for more than 35 years

In The News

Network Security: Hacking Fears Could Scare Consumers Away from Smart-Home Devices

The rising occurrence of high-profile security hacks and privacy breaches, as well as being personally victimized, are contributing to ever-increasing consumer anxiety about smart home devices and platforms, according to new research.

Parks Associates’ latest quarterly survey of 10,000 U.S. broadband households found that almost half of consumers rank data security and privacy issues as their greatest concerns about connecting devices to the Internet, compared to other problems they may encounter, such as with tech support. Forty percent of the respondents say they have experienced a privacy or security problem with a connected device in the past year, most commonly viruses and malware.

“Our most recent data reveals that almost half of U.S. broadband households are ‘very concerned’ [rating 6-7 on a 7-point scale] about hackers getting control of connected devices and hackers getting access to data from the device,” says Parks Associates Research Analyst Brad Russell. “In tracing trending changes on these consumer attitudes from 2014 to 2016, we find that while the total share of consumers who are ‘concerned’ [rating 5-7] has not appreciably changed, the share of those that are ‘very concerned’ has grown by 6% to 7%. Similarly, the share of consumers who are ‘not concerned [rating 1-3] has shrunk by about half.”

From the article "Network Security: Hacking Fears Could Scare Consumers Away from Smart-Home Devices" by Rodney Bosch.

Previously In The News

Exploring the Rise of Smart Appliances in American Homes

According to recent findings from Parks Associates, the trend of smart appliance adoption is witnessing remarkable growth, with 23% of U.S. internet households currently owning at least one smart...

Why Smart Infrastructure Is Revolutionizing Home Sales

In 2025, approximately 45% of U.S. households with internet access own at least one smart home device, with nearly 18% having six or more devices (Parks Associates, 2025). From the article, "Why Sm...

Parks: Most streamers use ad-supported products

The majority of streamers in the United States are watching at least some of their shows, movies and other videos through advertising-based products, according to a new research paper released by Park...

How Hollywood’s moving from classics to a tech-driven world

Streaming has untethered viewers from TV schedules, with 271 online video services in the U.S. catering to every niche, from horror buffs to horse enthusiasts, per Parks Associates. From the articl...