Cyber report: Consumers would avoid hack victims

The extent to which Irish consumers fear their data being breached has been laid bare in a new report which shows 50% would never shop with a business if their bank details were compromised in a cyber attack.

Not only would half of consumers not shop online again with a business that has been compromised in such a way, they would also stop visiting their stores.

More than three quarters of those surveyed feel businesses should be held responsible for the security of user data and personal information.

“We live in a digital economy. Businesses are amassing more personal information about their customers than ever before,” said Deloitte partner David Hearn.

“This data is valuable to cyber criminals with the result that businesses are exposed to greater cyber risks than ever before. While consumers are alert to these dangers, they are distrustful of how organisations protect and use their personal information.

“Consumers want more control over their data privacy and would like businesses to provide them with better tools to protect themselves online. Businesses can begin to address the trust gap by being more transparent about the information they collect and reassuring consumers about how their personal data is protected.”

Deloitte’s Consumer Review report also found there was widescale distrust of public wifi networks, with just one in 10 consumers comfortable browsing or making payments using such networks.

However, just over half of consumers control their privacy settings and only 42% understand how to control the level of data or information available about them.