Smart home security is likely to continue to suffer from a lack of investment due to perceptions that a breach will have little consequence, new research shows.

A new study by Juniper Research said that security spending in consumer markets would remain low, primarily because smart home devices often came with “poor long-term device support and little fear of ramifications in case of a breach.”

“The interconnected nature of the IoT means that even innocuous devices like the connected fridge can become a threat,” research author Steffen Sorrell said in a statement.

“Vendors see that risk as low, while little has been done from a regulatory perspective to protect consumers.”

Presently, most security-related spending on IoT is being pumped into smart energy products and services.

Juniper Research also said that the rise of edge computing and near-real-time IoT applications would also increase overall security spend, because the attack surface raised the risks for providers in that space, as well as for those who bought their products.