Without cyber security communications service providers are doing their customers a disservice
Security and network intelligence vendor Allot has released findings from its Global Consumer Security Survey.
It discovered that 88 per cent of consumers across the globe identify mobile security as a top priority but their mobile operator fails to provide it. Meanwhile operators prioritise entertainment, it said, but only 49 per cent of consumers thought that mobile entertainment was a top priority. There seems an obvious gap in the market for a developer to turn security into a form of entertainment.
Make us secure!
Allot commissioned Coleman Parkes Research to survey 8,000 customers of mobile operators from all parts of the world in the first quarter of 2022. The research suggest there is a lack of empathy and imagination in the security sector. Allot’s research suggests that mobile operators may need to consider offering cybersecurity as part of their core services for consumers.
Key finding is insecurity
Its key findings were that 57 per cent of consumers don’t know which cybersecurity solution to choose. Somehow this ignorance has doubled since Q4 2020, which put the figure at 31 per cent. The survey did not say if this is because people are suddenly twice as confused as they were in the last quarter, or if this study was conducted under the same conditions as the last.
Have cyber threats caused panic?
However, 62 per cent of respondents said that secure connectivity is a core offering that they expect from mobile service providers. Nearly all (84 per cent) of respondents think that security should already be on the device and is the responsibility of the device manufacturer or service provider. The most clear cut conclusion comes from one line of questioning, which found that 90 per cent of consumers are willing to pay for cyber protection and 75 per cent trust their mobile provider to protect them from cyber threats.
Buy more security, says security vendors
“Mobile service providers are perfectly positioned to provide zero-touch network-based cybersecurity services to their consumer customers,” said Vered Zur, marketing VP for Allot. “The results of this survey show that Allot is focused on a market whose customers are ready to pay for cybersecurity services.”