Cybersecurity pioneer, McAfee recently collaborated with Verizon to secure connected Internet of Things (IoT) devices throughout a home network with Verizon’s Home Network Protection (HNP). HNP is a service on Verizon’s Fios Quantum Gateway Router that automatically protects all connected devices in a home network, such as smart thermostats and smart refrigerators. This McAfee-powered solution would provide Verizon Fios customers seamless control, security from malicious websites, advanced parental controls, and user authorization and authentication.
The popularity of IoT devices is increasing at a significant rate, with more than 10 billion connected devices expected to be in homes by 2020. With this explosive growth of connected devices, security has also become a critical concern. According to a research from McAfee, almost 80% of parents are worried about their children interacting with a social predator or cybercriminal online. Only 23% of parents admit to using software to monitor their children’s activity on their devices. With the growth of IoT devices, these new family lifestyle challenges keep surfacing. “While there are remarkable comfort and convenience that these connected IoT devices have brought in our day-to-day life, but at the same time these devices are putting consumer’s security and privacy at risk,” says Balaji Sreedhar – AVP, ICT Practice – Consulting & Strategy at MarketsandMarkets™. “Consumers need to take corrective countermeasures to enjoy the full benefits of living in a smart home,” he says.
According to MarketsandMarkets™, the smart home market would be worth USD 137.91 billion by 2023 and grow at a rate of 13.6% from 2017 to 2023, owing to an exponential growth in IoT devices, rapid proliferation of smart gadgets, and rise in security concerns for these connected devices. “Smart home has become one of the fastest-growing applications of IoT, as it provides a more connected and intelligent way to live. However, there lies a great responsibility on the security vendors as well as the consumers, to carefully take steps to protect against malicious threats and avoid future attacks,”.
This collaboration between McAfee and Verizon would certainly help in making smart homes more secure, ensuring their customers are protected from online potential threats. Their joint capabilities would provide customers a unified and automatic security for connected devices for their home network.
