Governance

Finance data a worry

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Governance
Written by Paul Williams   
Tuesday, 12 May 2009

Guardium survey: British public worried about the security of personal data held by banks, retailers and government.

 

British consumers are very concerned about the security of their personal and financial data held by banks, retailers and government organisations, according to an opinion poll of Londoners carried out last week.

Of the three types of organisation, banks emerged as the most trusted, followed by retailers and government.
 
The survey, conducted in central London last week by database security company Guardium, asked consumers to share their views on the safety of their personal data from both internal and external threats across a range of organisations.
 
Of the 102 people surveyed, almost half (43%) were worried about their bank’s ability to protect their credit cards from fraud, and a similar number (40%) had concerns about their bank’s ability to protect their personal data.
 
Yet despite the current economic climate and negative media stories surrounding the banking industry, the respondents had more faith in their banks’ security procedures than those of retailers or government bodies. Almost two-thirds (61%) – or about 50% more respondents – were concerned about UK retailers’ ability to protect their details; and 63% were concerned about the government's ability to safely protect their personal information.
 
Almost one-fifth (16%) of those surveyed had been victims of fraud; although an overwhelming 87% of those affected had been pleased with their bank’s ability to handle the situation and provide a positive outcome.
 
Consumers were more concerned about external threats – such as criminal attacks – to their banking information than internal threats, although 25% said they were worried about the potential threat from rogue or disgruntled employees in the wake of the global financial crisis.
 
Only 2% of respondents said they had ‘complete trust’ in the UK Government’s ability to safeguard their personal information, compared with 18% saying they had total faith in their banks.

 
 
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