American’s Cyber Insecurities
With all of the recent cyber attacks, data security has been in the news a lot as of late. There are a wide variety of different attacks that consumers and businesses should be worried about including the stealing of financial information, as well as email hacking and the hacking into compromising images on a users phone. In this blog the professional information security team at Secure Digital Solutions will highlight a recent study that asked consumers whether they would rather have their financial information or compromising photos stolen. The answer may surprise you!
A recent survey from MasterCard offers some interesting insight into the minds of Americans. First off, the survey broke down how fearful consumers are about certain theft categories. The results are shown below:
- 77% of consumers are concerned about their financial data stolen
- 62% of people are concerned about their email being hacked
- 46% of people fear being pickpocketed
- 59% of survey participants are worried about their house being robbed
While consumers seem concerned about their financial security, the survey also asked participants if they would rather have their financial information stolen than compromising pictures. More than half of the survey participants (55%) indicated that they would rather have their financial information stolen than compromising photos.
Are Consumers Doing Enough to Protect Their Identities?
This survey also looked into whether consumers were doing enough to protect their financial information. While the majority of individuals think that they’re protecting themselves, the data shows otherwise:
- Over 90% of Americans think that they’re taking extra precautions to protect their financial information yet only half ever change passwords for their online financial accounts.
- More than 40% admitted to using the same password for multiple financial accounts and 39% admitted to checking their financial data while online using public networks.
While consumers seem to be thinking that they’re doing enough to protect their identities, the reality is that they’re not. Hopefully with more surveys like this one from MasterCard, consumers will begin to realize the importance of being vigilant when it comes to their financial information.
Is Your Business Doing Everything it Can to Protect Your Data?
If you’re a small business owner, are you doing enough to protect your company data and the data of your employees? Do you have strict security policies in place in the event that your corporate data is compromised? If not, it’s important to enact these policies immediately, as well as look into software solutions that make the process straightforward. For more information on TrustMAPP, a leading information security tool from Secure Digital Solutions free to reach out to our sales team today at 952-544-0234.