Connected devices are dominating most homes

Canada warned of security risks in new report

Simultaneously scrolling through Twitter on a smartphone, online shopping on a laptop and streaming Netflix on television is becoming a more common scene in Canadian households.

Nearly half of the homes surveyed — 46 per cent — reported having five or more Internet-connected devices in 2016, according to the annual Canadian Internet Registration Authority (CIRA) Internet tracking study, released Tuesday.

That’s a sharp increase from 36 per cent in 2015 and almost double the 27 per cent reported in 2014, according to the study conducted in partnership with the Strategic Counsel, which polled 1,000 Internet users.

And the number “is likely only to rise with the proliferation of smart-home technology and applications,” the report stated.

The report also found the number of Canadians who access the Internet most often via smartphone doubled to 20 per cent in 2016.

As it stands, the vast majority of households (88 per cent) had at least two connected devices, while nine per cent reported 10 plus devices, according to CIRA, the organization that manages the .ca domain registry.

But CIRA warns the country needs to prepare for the cybersecurity risks associated with the proliferation in devices.

About two-thirds of Internet users surveyed are concerned about their personal information being compromised or subject to cyber attack.

“Canadians are some of the most connected people on the planet and our annual factbook confirms this year-after-year,” CIRA vicepresident David Fowler said in a statement.

“As new technologies are deployed, such as the Internet of Things, we need to ensure that security is at the forefront of our planning.”

The reported explosion in smartphone usage and Internet-connected devices comes as telecommunications companies rely more on Internet and wireless services to bolster their bottom lines, be it from customers signing up for unlimited home service or smartphone users choosing higher data caps.

Mobile and Internet data usage jumped 44 per cent and 40 per cent respectively in the last year alone, according to the Canadian Radiotelevision and Telecommunications Commission.

Cable and telecom companies are investing billions to upgrade their Internet infrastructure with fibre or fibre-coax hybrid cables in preparation for rising demand for bandwidth as more devices such as 4K televisions come online. They’re also jockeying to be leaders in the Internet of Things, where devices from refrigerators to cars are hooked up to the Internet.