Poll respondents assess risk of theft, cyberattacks & more

YARMOUTH, Maine - A majority of respondents to a recent SSN News Poll report that enhanced physical security and surveillance is the best answer to the rising problem of retail theft, while some wonder if that constitutes a sufficient response. 

Among this month’s questions we discussed the rising problem of retail theft from organized crime groups and best practices to combat this trend. Most respondents, 60%, feel that enhanced physical security and surveillance is the best answer to these incidents, with only 10% believing that targeting stolen good buyers would have any effect upon crime rates. An additional 30% see the crime as a macroeconomic issue best dealt with at a national level.  

One reader wondered about alternatives to conventional alarm response to combat crime. “Verified Response (is) becoming a trend, which means no or slow police response to most alarm systems,” the reader wrote. “What alternatives are available to millions of customers?” 

Responses broke down along identical lines when it came to major cybersecurity incidents so far this year. Sixty percent of respondents said the UnitedHealthcare Group hack was the most noteworthy incident so far in 2024. While 30% found the Roku breach to be the most concerning item, surprisingly only 10% felt that the take-down of the LockBit ransomware group to be of note, which might reflect the wariness that some feel about future incidents and the seeming lack of progress made in stemming the tide of spiraling cybercrime. 

In terms of enhancing cybersecurity, we also asked readers to tell us what they felt was the most important of several executive orders concerning national security to come down in the past several months. The responses were split 44% between the executive order directing improved cybersecurity of the nation’s ports, and the executive order to protect data privacy against various countries from gathering biometric data. Despite its popularity as a topic in the security industry, only 12% of respondents thought that the executive order to strengthen artificial Intelligence (AI) safety and security was important. 

Be sure to scroll down on www.securitysystemsnews.com to participate in our current news poll where we ask for industry/installer perspectives on homeowner investment in residential security systems and more.