In the News
Consumers seem to react strongly to failures in cybersecurity. In One-Fifth of US Consumers Never Return to Breached Brands, Phil Muncaster at Info-Security News discusses a recent poll of 2,000 individuals which documented public opinions surrounding data security and consumer loyalty regarding data security. Muncaster explains that 62% of participants primarily blame the company for a data breach, 26% refrained from engaging with companies they view as being insecure, and 21% reported that they would not return to a company if the company experienced a data breach.
Our Take
Data breaches occur at such a high frequency that it is no surprise that consumers are having trust issues with companies who do get breached. More and more consumers are getting exposed to the lack of strong cybersecurity practices either through the news or through being the victim of a data breach themselves and experiencing the negative consequences. Public opinion regarding safe online data storage practices is only going to increase. Consumers realize that their online footprint has great value to not only their lives but potentially to a malicious attacker. This is especially important in the age of social media and shopping through social media apps or popular websites. Though many online businesses are entirely legitimate, many fast fashion websites or foreign brands may not secure your financial information to the necessary degree given our current information climate. Think to yourself this question before you shop: Is this one item really worth putting my finances in jeopardy?
Recommendations
How can you protect your personal information when signing up for online services?
- Understand the risks of putting your personal information into the world, and only share what you have to
- Make sure that you update all application and programs regularly to ensure you are using the most current and secure version
- Avoid clicking on direct links from social media, emails, or messages—always verify the source in a separate browser
- Don’t reuse your account passwords, and take advantage of multi-factor authentication where possible
- Only shop or utilize websites and apps that you can ensure are reputable
- Stay up to date on the news covering recent breaches to see if you may have been affected