aster.cloud aster.cloud
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
aster.cloud aster.cloud
  • /
  • Platforms
    • Public Cloud
    • On-Premise
    • Hybrid Cloud
    • Data
  • Architecture
    • Design
    • Solutions
    • Enterprise
  • Engineering
    • Automation
    • Software Engineering
    • Project Management
    • DevOps
  • Programming
    • Learning
  • Tools
  • About
  • Big Data
  • Tech

The Privacy paradox: We Claim We Care About Our Data, So Why Don’t Our Actions Match?

  • root
  • August 20, 2020
  • 4 minute read

Imagine how you’d feel if you discovered footage from your private home security camera had been broadcast over the internet. This is exactly what happened to several unsuspecting Australians last month, when the website Insecam streamed their personal lives online.

According to an ABC report, Insecam broadcasts live streams of dozens of Australian businesses and homes at any given time. Some cameras can be accessed because owners don’t secure them. Some may be hacked into despite being “secured”.


Partner with aster.cloud
for your next big idea.
Let us know here.



From our partners:

CITI.IO :: Business. Institutions. Society. Global Political Economy.
CYBERPOGO.COM :: For the Arts, Sciences, and Technology.
DADAHACKS.COM :: Parenting For The Rest Of Us.
ZEDISTA.COM :: Entertainment. Sports. Culture. Escape.
TAKUMAKU.COM :: For The Hearth And Home.
ASTER.CLOUD :: From The Cloud And Beyond.
LIWAIWAI.COM :: Intelligence, Inside and Outside.
GLOBALCLOUDPLATFORMS.COM :: For The World's Computing Needs.
FIREGULAMAN.COM :: For The Fire In The Belly Of The Coder.
ASTERCASTER.COM :: Supra Astra. Beyond The Stars.
BARTDAY.COM :: Prosperity For Everyone.

When asked if they care about their personal information being shared online, most people say they do. A 2017 survey found 69% of Australians were more concerned about their online privacy than in 2012.

However, a much smaller percentage of people actually take the necessary actions to preserve their privacy. This is referred to as the “privacy paradox”, a concept first studied about two decades ago.

To investigate this phenomenon further, we conducted a research project and found that, despite being concerned about privacy, participants were willing to sacrifice some of it in exchange for the convenience afforded by an internet-connected device.

Unpacking the privacy paradox

Any “smart” device connected to the internet is called an Internet of Things (IoT) device. These can be remotely monitored and controlled by the owners.

The projected growth of IoT devices is staggering. By 2025, they’re expected to reach 75.44 billion – an increase of 146% from 2020.

The global IoT network is a collection of all the interconnected devices that can communicate online. This includes smart devices, appliances and wearable tech.
Shutterstock

Are device owners genuinely concerned about their privacy? Recent worldwide anxiety about personal information shared through COVID-19 tracing apps seems to suggest so.

Read More  Bio-Pharma Organizations Can Now Leverage The Groundbreaking Protein Folding System, Alphafold, With Vertex AI

But as the privacy paradox highlights, users expressing privacy concerns often fail to act in accordance with them. They freely divulge personal information in exchange for services and convenience.

Explanations for the privacy paradox abound. Some suggest:

  • people find it difficult to associate a specific value to their privacy and therefore, the value of protecting it
  • people do not consider their personal information to be their own and thus might not appreciate the need to secure it
  • people completely lack awareness of their right to privacy or privacy issues and believe their desired goals (such as a personalised experience) outweigh the potential risks (such as big tech companies using their data for profiling).

The likely explanation for the privacy paradox is a mix of all these factors.

What if we proved your device harvests data?

To understand whether and how the privacy paradox applies to IoT devices, we conducted an experiment involving 46 Saudi Arabian participants. This is because in Saudi Arabia the use of IoT is exploding and the country does not have strong privacy regulations.

We gave participants a smart plug that let them switch a table lamp on or off using an app on their smartphone. We then showed them the device’s privacy policy and measured participants’ privacy concerns and trust in the device.

None of the participants read the privacy policy. They simply agreed to commence with the study.

After two hours, we presented evidence of how much of their data the IoT-connected plug was harvesting, then remeasured their privacy concerns and trust.

Read More  OpenHW Group Announces RISC-V-Based CORE-V MCU Development Kit For IoT Built With Open-Source Hardware & Software

After the participants saw evidence of privacy violation, their privacy concerns increased and trust in the device decreased. However their behaviour did not align with their concern, as shown by the fact that:

  • 15 participants continued to use the device regardless
  • 13 continued to use it with their personal information removed
  • only three opted to block all outbound traffic to unusual IP addresses.

The rest preferred “light-touch” responses, such as complaining on social media, complaining to the device’s manufacturer or falsifying their shared information.

After one month, we measured participants’ attitudes a third time and discovered their privacy concerns and trust in the device had reverted to pre-experiment levels.

How to prevent complacency

Two decades since the first privacy paradox studies were conducted and despite a great deal of research, there is still a mismatch between people’s stated privacy concerns and their protective behaviours. How can we improve this?

Every time you connect a new device to the internet, or opt-in to a new service, ask yourself: ‘do I really need this?’ Shutterstock

The first step is to simply be aware our judgement of IoT device risks and benefits may not be accurate. With that in mind, we should always take time to read the privacy policies of our devices.

Besides informing us of the risks, reading privacy policies can help us stop and think before connecting a new device to the internet. Ask yourself: “is this really going to benefit me?”

As citizen surveillance increases, it’s not wise to mindlessly scroll through privacy policies, tick a box and move on.

Read More  Microsoft Build 2019 | Building and updating secure IoT devices

Second, we should not assume our personal information is trivial and would not interest anyone. Time after time we have witnessed how our digital traces can be valuable to malicious individuals or large corporations.

And finally, always change the default password on any new IoT device to a stronger one. Write down this password and secure it, perhaps with other physical valuables, so you don’t have to worry about forgetting it.The Conversation

 

This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license.


For enquiries, product placements, sponsorships, and collaborations, connect with us at [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

Our humans need coffee too! Your support is highly appreciated, thank you!

root

Related Topics
  • Data Security
  • Data sharing
  • Digital privacy
  • Interconnectedness
  • Internet Of Things
  • Internet privacy
  • IoT
  • Personal data
  • Privacy
  • Privacy in practice
  • Privacy invasion
You May Also Like
Getting things done makes her feel amazing
View Post
  • Computing
  • Data
  • Featured
  • Learning
  • Tech
  • Technology

Nurturing Minds in the Digital Revolution

  • April 25, 2025
View Post
  • Tech

Deep dive into AI with Google Cloud’s global generative AI roadshow

  • February 18, 2025
Volvo Group: Confidently ahead at CES
View Post
  • Tech

Volvo Group: Confidently ahead at CES

  • January 8, 2025
zedreviews-ces-2025-social-meta
View Post
  • Featured
  • Gears
  • Tech
  • Technology

What Not to Miss at CES 2025

  • January 6, 2025
View Post
  • Tech

IBM and Pasqal Plan to Expand Quantum-Centric Supercomputing Initiative

  • November 21, 2024
Black Friday Gifts
View Post
  • Tech

Black Friday. How to Choose the Best Gifts for Yourself and Others, Plus Our Top Recommendations.

  • November 16, 2024
zedreviews-Apple-iPhone-16-Pro-finish-lineup-240909
View Post
  • Featured
  • Gears
  • Tech
  • Technology
  • Tools

Apple debuts iPhone 16 Pro and iPhone 16 Pro Max

  • September 10, 2024
zedreviews-Apple-iPhone-16-Apple-Intelligence-240909
View Post
  • Featured
  • Gears
  • Tech
  • Technology

Apple introduces iPhone 16 and iPhone 16 Plus

  • September 10, 2024

Stay Connected!
LATEST
  • 1
    Just make it scale: An Aurora DSQL story
    • May 29, 2025
  • 2
    Reliance on US tech providers is making IT leaders skittish
    • May 28, 2025
  • Examine the 4 types of edge computing, with examples
    • May 28, 2025
  • AI and private cloud: 2 lessons from Dell Tech World 2025
    • May 28, 2025
  • 5
    TD Synnex named as UK distributor for Cohesity
    • May 28, 2025
  • Weigh these 6 enterprise advantages of storage as a service
    • May 28, 2025
  • 7
    Broadcom’s ‘harsh’ VMware contracts are costing customers up to 1,500% more
    • May 28, 2025
  • 8
    Pulsant targets partner diversity with new IaaS solution
    • May 23, 2025
  • 9
    Growing AI workloads are causing hybrid cloud headaches
    • May 23, 2025
  • Gemma 3n 10
    Announcing Gemma 3n preview: powerful, efficient, mobile-first AI
    • May 22, 2025
about
Hello World!

We are aster.cloud. We’re created by programmers for programmers.

Our site aims to provide guides, programming tips, reviews, and interesting materials for tech people and those who want to learn in general.

We would like to hear from you.

If you have any feedback, enquiries, or sponsorship request, kindly reach out to us at:

[email protected]
Most Popular
  • 1
    Cloud adoption isn’t all it’s cut out to be as enterprises report growing dissatisfaction
    • May 15, 2025
  • 2
    Hybrid cloud is complicated – Red Hat’s new AI assistant wants to solve that
    • May 20, 2025
  • 3
    Google is getting serious on cloud sovereignty
    • May 22, 2025
  • oracle-ibm 4
    Google Cloud and Philips Collaborate to Drive Consumer Marketing Innovation and Transform Digital Asset Management with AI
    • May 20, 2025
  • notta-ai-header 5
    Notta vs Fireflies: Which AI Transcription Tool Deserves Your Attention in 2025?
    • May 16, 2025
  • /
  • Technology
  • Tools
  • About
  • Contact Us

Input your search keywords and press Enter.