Introduction
60% of Americans believe that they have never been a victim of cyber hacking or are unaware if they have. Statistics tell a different story; every day, more than a million people become a victim of cybercrime (Source).
In fact, in the U.S. alone, $15 billion was stolen from 13.1 million American consumers in 2015 (Source), prompting the question of why are Americans so confident about their own cybersecurity knowledge?
63%
rate their security knowledge equal to or higher than Donald Trump
60%
believe they’ve never been a victim of cyber hacking or are unaware if they have
45%
admit to not being able to recognize a cyber crime unless contacted
by a
vendor or law enforcement
51%
cite identity theft as the biggest cybersecurity issue facing consumers
55%
believe the most important cybersecurity problem for businesses is securing customer
information
72%
rank foreign espionage threats as the biggest cybersecurity issue for the U.S. Government
The biggest security problem facing us as individuals
51% said identity theft is the #1 problem
BIGGEST CYBERSECURITY PROBLEM FACING AMERICAN BUSINESSES
54% said securing customer information is the #1 problem
BIGGEST CYBERSECURITY PROBLEM FACING THE U.S. GOVERNMENT
72% rank hacking by foreign governments as the #1 problem
WHAT TYPE OF HACKING SHOULD HAVE THE SEVEREST PENALTIES
44% said espionage should have the severest penalties
SECURITY KNOWLEDGE
63%
believe they are as or more knowledgeable than Trump when it comes to cybersecurity
48%
believe they’ve never been a victim of a cyber-attack
45%
admitted to not being able to recognize a cyber crime unless contacted by a vendor or law
enforcement authorities.
Do you believe you’ve ever been a victim of a cyber attack?
DO YOU FEEL AS KNOWLEDGEABLE, OR MORE KNOWLEDGEABLE THAN EACH OF THE FOLLOWING WHEN IT COMES
TO
CYBERSECURITY?
Ranking Security
Problems
WHAT INFORMATION ARE YOU MOST CONCERNED WITH KEEPING SECURE?
44% are most concerned with protecting their social security number
Trustworthiness
HOW TRUSTWORTHY IS EACH OF THE FOLLOWING AT KEEPING YOUR INFORMATION SECURE
WHO DO YOU TRUST MOST WITH YOUR FINANCIAL INFORMATION WHEN SHOPPING ONLINE?
54% trust online marketplaces like eBay and Amazon the most
94%
don’t let the fear of hacks stop them from shopping online
33%
believe they are more secure online if they don’t save credit card information
30%
only use PayPal or other trusted payment methods when shopping online
HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT HACKERS ACCESSING YOUR INFORMATION THROUGH
E-COMMERCE SITES?
95% are at least somewhat concerned. Gen-Xers are the most concerned with 25% being “very
concerned” compared to 17% of all other respondents
HOW HAS THE FEAR OF HACKING AFFECTED YOUR USE OF ONLINE SHOPPING WEBSITES?
33% believe they are more secure online if they don’t save their credit card information
WHAT IS THE BEST WAYS TO SEND CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION TO KEEP IT PRIVATE AND SAFE?
55% ranked hand delivering information yourself to be the best way
Consequences of
Cyber-Attack
WHAT ACTIONS DID YOU TAKE ONCE YOU REALIZED YOU WERE A TARGET OF A CYBER-ATTACK?
74% said they changed their password
Internet of
Things
HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT HACKERS ACCESSING DESKTOP AND LAPTOP COMPUTERS?
76% are at least moderately concerned about hackers accessing their computers
HOW CONCERNED ARE YOU ABOUT HACKERS ACCESSING SMART APPLIANCES, SMARTPHONES AND OTHER DEVICES BESIDES DESKTOP AND LAPTOP COMPUTERS?
Which of the following devices do you own?
What devices are you concerned might be hacked?
WHICH BEST DESCRIBES YOUR CONFIDENCE ABOUT RECOGNIZING IF YOUR SMART DEVICES HAVE BEEN
HACKED?
45% admitted to not being able to recognize a cyber crime unless contacted by a vendor or law
enforcement authorities
What do you believe to be the most serious implication of smart home or IoT hacking?
What actions would you take if your smart devices were a target of a cyber-attack?
Methodology
To better understand current cybersecurity attitudes and concerns, Researchscape International surveyed 1,012 U.S. adults about their technological devices, cybersecurity knowledge and top concerns. Respondents were quota-sampled using 32 different cells (gender by age by region) to closely match the overall U.S. population.
