Some smartphone users would not be 'upset' by data theft

There are two kinds of people in this world, and I don’t mean those who can read binary and those that cannot. I’m thinking about those who are aware of the security risks smartphones pose, and those who aren’t.

And according to a new survey by security firm Norton, the world is literally split in half over this -- 56 percent of those surveyed say the prospect of the financial and banking information stored on their phone being hacked is "upsetting". Meaning, for the remaining 44 percent it’s not upsetting.

Not only is it not upsetting, but they "either do not care about their information being hacked or they are less concerned about financial hacks than other information being compromised", Norton says in its report.

For almost 10 percent, out of more than 5,000 surveyed in US, UK, Canada, Australia and Japan, there’s not a single thing a hacker could take from their phone that would upset them. That doesn’t mean it’s necessarily true -- that just means they feel that way. "They don’t think anything bad could happen on a smartphone", Norton comments.

It’s the same with IoT -- globally, users feel more comfortable using banking and financial apps than home IoT devices. Despite the fact that we’ve seen countless examples of IoT devices getting hacked, people would still feel secure.

The point is not to panic, or to stop using IoT devices, Norton says. Instead, the point is to educate everyone that using these devices comes with great responsibility. "We want the people who are not concerned about hacking to understand the risk", Norton says.

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