Hacking: Number One Fear among Consumers

[Audrey McNeil <audrey () riskbasedsecurity com>]

http://midsizeinsider.com/en-us/article/hacking-number-one-fear-among-consumers

Hacking is the biggest concern that Internet users in the U.S. have,
according to a new study. People are extremely concerned about the theft of
their information, and they want the federal government to take more steps
to protect them. Growing consumer fears about cybercrime are important for
midsize firms to consider as they move forward and safeguard their
corporate data, which includes sensitive information shared by their
customers.

Fear of Hackers

A survey conducted for the Computer and Communications Industry Association
and recently featured in SecurityWeek revealed that 80 percent of
respondents fear that they will fall victim to hackers and online theft.
Overall, the study concluded that identity theft is the main concern for
consumers, causing more worry than how respondents feel companies may use
their data for ads and ad tracking.

More than half of Internet users interviewed said that they know someone
who has been a victim of cybercrime and has had an email account breached.
Another 50 percent said that they know someone who has had financial
accounts compromised on the Internet. As a result of these cybercrime
fears, three-fourths of respondents prefer not to have sites remember their
credit card numbers. More than half have disabled cookies and have blocked
apps from using their location data.

Taking Precautions

The results of the industry survey relate directly to how midsize firms
approach securitymeasures taken at their business. Data security is a top
priority at smaller firms, and IT professionals do their best to enforce
policies and best practices to prevent a breach. They maintain their
information infrastructure with the right software and hardware tools to
help ensure that financial and sensitive information does not get into the
wrong hands. The challenge is that IT professionals at growing
organizations often are compelled to accomplish their security goals with
limited resources, time, money and staff. Furthermore, if security goals
are not met, the risks have proven to be even more costly and, at times,
disastrous. As the survey points out, consumers are extremely worried about
their data being compromised by cybercrime. A data breach is terrible PR
for a growing firm, and it can lose enormous amounts of time and resources
trying to recover from an incident.

There is opportunity to ensure that a company's information infrastructure
is built securely with the appropriate password controls, firewalls,
application management controls and mobile device management technology.
Vendors that specialize in working with growing firms offer the appropriate
counsel to help them fill the knowledge gaps. Through such a partnership,
companies can safeguard their corporate and client data.

Future Safeguards

With time, more companies will place a broader emphasis on protecting
consumer data as policymakers and government officials take notice of
growing fears and concerns about hacking among Internet users. It is
important for consumers to feel safe when they interact with companies and
share their personal data. Midsize firms that opt to invest in solid
security solutions are laying the groundwork to safeguard sensitive data.
In the end, that investment leads to better business relationships and
opens up more opportunities to grow.

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