| Harris Poll: Adults in Largest European Countries, U.S. and China Concerned Over Online Security |
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04/03/2010 15:42 (182 Day 06:32 minutes ago) | |||||
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The FINANCIAL -- A new Financial Times/Harris Poll among those under age 65 finds there is a sense of concern over online security and while people are doing some things to help keep their data and privacy secure, they may not be doing everything.
Three in five Americans (61%), majorities of French adults (56%), Spaniards (55%), Chinese (54%) and Britons (52%) as well as 46% of Germans and 40% of Italians are concerned about the amount and security of personal online data that can be accessed by search engines people use, such as Google or Bing. There is slightly more concern over the amount and security of personal online data that can be accessed by people's Internet Service Provider (between 45% in Italy and 64% in the U.S.).
These are some of the findings of a Financial Times/Harris Poll conducted online by Harris Interactive among 7,256 adults aged 16-64 in France, Germany, Great Britain, Spain and the United States, adults aged 18-64 in Italy and adults aged 18-60 in China between February 3 and 10, 2010.
The greatest amount of concern is over being hacked. Four in five Americans (81%), Chinese (81%) and Spaniards (79%), three-quarters of French adults (75%) and Britons (73%), and two-thirds of Italians (67%) and Germans (65%) all say they are concerned about the amount and security of personal online data that can be accessed by cybercriminals and hackers. Over half of Spaniards (56%), Americans (55%) and Chinese (53%) say they are very concerned.
Feelings towards online security
Majorities of adults in Great Britain (70%), Italy (67%), Germany (62%), the U.S. (61%), France (60%) and Spain (58%) all believe they are careful enough about the security of their personal data/details online while two-thirds of Chinese adults (67%) say they should be much more careful about the security of their personal data/details online.
When it comes to hackers and cybercriminals using online personal data/details, majorities in all seven countries (between 56% and 80%) are worried. Also, majorities in Spain (66%), Germany (64%), France (62%), the U.S. (62%), Italy (57%) and Great Britain (53%) say social sites like Facebook and Twitter make many people vulnerable to cyber attacks. Chinese however are more divided as two in five each say they are not sure (41%) and that these sites make people more vulnerable (39%).
Germans tend to be more thorough as a majority of them (53%) say they tend to read sites' Terms and Conditions carefully and are aware of their privacy policies while majorities in the other six countries say they do not read these terms carefully.
When it comes to sharing personal details with a website even if they make clear it's secure, there is a difference by country and a clear divide among some of these countries. Three in five Italians (59%) and half of Spaniards (51%) and Britons (50%) are happy to have some of these personal details shared, while 57% of both Americans and Chinese are not happy to have these details shared. Germans are split with 46% saying they would be happy to have these details shared and the same number saying they would be unhappy. French are also divided, but lean a little one way as 49% would be unhappy and 47% would be happy to have these details shared.
There is also a sense of uncertainty regarding cyber attacks. Almost half of Italians (47%), 45% of French adults and 40% of Spaniards are all not sure if they will be the victim of a cyber attack in the next five years. Britons are divided 35% not expecting to be a victim of a cyber attack and 36% unsure. Two in five Germans (38%) and Americans (38%) say they do not expect to be a victim of a cyber attack and Chinese adults are split with 34% each saying they expect to be a victim and expect to not be a victim.
So what?
Online security remains something that people care about and also worry about with regard to hackers, but also with their ISPs. Companies need to do a good job in two areas; they have to constantly reassure their clients that their data is safe, and they also must educate them as to how to make sure personal records stay private and stay secure.
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