A current look into the US consumer’s views on cybersecurity

Kaspersky Lab and HackerOne surveyed over 5,000 U.S. consumers, ages 16 and older, earlier this year in order to better understand how Americans view the current state of cyberattacks and security. Here are a few of the key findings:

On responsibility

A large majority of Americans expect others to take responsibility for their security. Fortunately, younger generations are beginning to understand that they should take ownership for protecting their own data when making purchases online.

• 73% of U.S. adults believe retailers should be responsible for protecting consumer data, followed by credit payment companies at 64%.
• 63% of adults, ranging from age 25 to 43, admit they should take responsibility for protecting their own data when purchasing online, while 74% of adults ages 55 and older say retailers should be responsible for the protection of data when purchasing online.

On purchasing decisions

American consumers are beginning to make purchasing decisions based on the cyber security practices of businesses.  Younger generations, who are considered digital natives, see value in companies hiring hackers to help protect consumer data.

• More than 22% of U.S. adults are more likely to make a purchase if they know a company hired hackers to help boost security.
• Only 36% of U.S. adults said that they would choose to be a customer of their own employer knowing what they know about their company’s cybersecurity practices.
• 29% of Americans 35 to 44 years old claim they are more likely to make a purchase if a company works with hackers for data protection.

On ransomware demands

Ransomware attacks are on the rise—from an attack every two minutes in January 2016, to every 40 seconds by October 2016. Americans believe companies should pay a ransom to get data back.

• Nearly three in five U.S. adults expect companies to pay a ransom if they were hacked.
• When asked what types of data they would expect a business to pay a ransom for in an attempt to get the information back, 43% expect companies to pay for employee social security numbers, followed by customer banking details (40%) and employee banking details (39%).

On politics

Americans witnessed firsthand how much security influences and affects politics with the latest election. The research shows that Americans remain divided regarding what impact the new president will have on the nation’s cybersecurity protection.

• Nearly half of U.S. adults surveyed (44%) believe that North America will be more vulnerable to cyber-espionage or nation-sponsored cyberattacks with Donald Trump as president of the United States.
• Of the U.S. millennials surveyed more than half thought that North America would be more vulnerable to cyber espionage or nation-sponsored cyberattacks with Donald Trump as president (56%).

There is still a lot of work that needs to be done in the way of educating and informing U.S. consumers about the importance of cyber security. Don’t miss Juliette Kayyem’s keynote at Secure360 Twin Cities 2017 that will discuss the U.S. national security apparatus and how it responds to changing threats.