National PKWARE Survey Reveals That 55 Percent Worry Their Social Security Numbers Will Be Stolen Next Year

MILWAUKEE, Nov. 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Confronted with new breaches reported in the media every week, nearly two out of three Americans (61 percent) believe their personal data is not secure, according to a new survey from Smart Encryption provider PKWARE. Theft of financial and identity information caused the most concern among U.S. respondents in the survey, with the leading data at risk cited as Social Security numbers (55 percent) and banking information (57 percent), including credit cards.  

Even as the cost of data breaches soars, 35 percent of those polled think their data will likely be stolen next year. The PKWARE survey found that people feel strong, negative emotions when hearing about yet another company's data breach. About half (49 percent) are angry, and 43 percent feel powerless or fearful and anxious. One in three people feel apathetic about the situation.

"As the collection of data grows every minute, so does the potential for information to slip through the cracks. It only takes one bad guy or company oversight to leave everyone exposed and reputations damaged," said Joe Sturonas, Chief Technology Officer at PKWARE. "Gone are the days of single-layer security. The only way to safeguard ourselves and our businesses comes from security that involves multiple methods of defense for data that is shared internally and externally, including from mobile devices and into the cloud."

When Data Goes Missing, Who Does America Fault?

In the wake of recent breaches into public cloud environments, personal data has never been more vulnerable. When personal data is stolen, 42 percent of those polled think the reason it most likely happened is because hackers stole the personal data and one in three people (36 percent) say a company's existing security technology was inadequate to protect their data. Nine percent fault an employee or website administrator who viewed or stole personal data on purpose – an "insider threat," as Sturonas calls them – and another 8 percent point to an employee or website administrator who accidently shared or exposed personal data.

Long seen as latecomers to security adoption, Millennials are much more likely than older people to think their data will be safe in the next year, according to the survey. Seventy-two percent of those 18-34 find it implausible that their data will be stolen in the next year, as compared to only 57 percent of those ages 45-54. The younger set also were least likely (79 percent) to change their shopping habits after the Home Depot and Target security breaches.

Additional Key Survey Findings

Most people (69 percent) polled say they have not personally experienced data theft, yet more than half (58 percent) say they know someone whose data was stolen. Nearly a quarter (23 percent) of those polled report their financial accounts were stolen and 12 percent say their personal files were stolen.

Despite growing concerns about hackers shifting their attention to medical fraud, only 36 percent are worried about the theft of medical records.

Despite reporting high awareness levels, significant worries and negative emotions about data theft, most people (73 percent) did not change their shopping habits at all after the Home Depot and Target security breaches. Only 14 percent of responders made a permanent change in their shopping habits for all retailers.

Higher income resulted in greater levels of caution specifically in changing their spending habits after the Home Depot and Target data breaches. Of those who earn $100k or more in household income, 90 percent say they now use their credit or debit cards less often and 83 percent monitor their personal credit or financial statements more closely. Also, 78 percent of those who earn $100k or more in household income knew someone whose personal data was stolen as compared to just 49 percent for those earning $35k or less annually.

Across all age ranges, men and women generally feel just as angry and apathetic about data breaches in the news. However, women are more likely (47 percent) to report feelings of fear and anxiety as compared to men (38 percent).

To learn more about how companies can improve their data security strategies, visit www.pkware.com.

Methodology

ORC International conducted the survey for PKWARE from Oct. 16-19, 2014 as part of its Telephone CARAVAN® survey. The study was conducted using two probability samples: randomly selected landline telephone numbers and randomly selected mobile (cell) telephone numbers. The combined sample consists of 1,012 adults (18 years old and older) living in the continental United States. Of the 1,012 interviews, 609 were from the landline sample and 403 from the cell phone sample.  

Surveys are collected by trained and supervised U.S.-based interviewers using ORC International's computer assisted telephone interviewing (CATI) system. Final data is adjusted to take the two sample frames into account and then weighted by age, gender, region, race/ethnicity and education to be proportionally representative of the U.S. adult population.

About PKWARE 

Thieves, snoops and idiots exploit gaps in enterprise information security every day. PKWARE's Smart Encryption armors data at its core, eliminating vulnerabilities everywhere data is used, shared or stored. Smart Encryption is easily embedded and managed without changing the way people work. Integrated across all enterprise systems, platforms and languages, Smart Encryption fortifies information security inside and outside the organization. For nearly three decades, PKWARE has provided encryption and compression software to more than 30,000 enterprise customers, 200 government entities and 6 billion users around the world. PKWARE invented .ZIP, the world's most widely used file-based open standard.

Media Contact:
Todd Aydelotte
646-428-0644
[email protected]

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SOURCE PKWARE

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