Date of Award

5-2024

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science

Department

Emergency Preparedness, Homeland Security, and Cybersecurity

Advisor/Committee Chair

Benjamin Yankson

Abstract

The Internet of Things (IoT) has had a significant impact on the way we view and interact with technology. This is especially prevalent in the areas of smart homes, smart tech, and mobile devices. However, despite the advantageous functions of IoT devices, they are accompanied by numerous security concerns that enable several severe privacy concerns. Many studies and informative articles present ideas that explain and prove the presence of the various risks associated with IoT devices and the need to address them. This thesis paper aims to explore the relationship between IoT device usage and security and privacy risks as well as to display the prevalence of IoT devices and compare the perception of risk of IoT device users to the actual risk associated with using said devices. To do so, we used a survey of students and faculty members at SUNY Albany that explored the level to which respondents perceived the risk of using IoT devices and descriptions of each IoT device user’s perception and any manners or methods they take to mitigate any risk of IoT devices. The result from this work shows that individuals associated with or attending UAlbany are familiar with IoT devices and use them often while being moderately to highly concerned and worried about the security and privacy risks associated with these devices. This work also shows that those who use IoT devices are unfamiliar with the types of data these devices collect about users and most users do not take any security measures to protect their devices. Based on our literature review and research study conducted across UAlbany, we can conclude that most users of IoT devices are continuing to use such devices despite their worry of security and privacy risks and lack of knowledge about how their data is being collected.

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