Half of US adults don't trust govt with their data

Around half of Americans have lost faith in the US government to keep their personal data safe from misuse, the findings of a survey from the Pew Research Center show.

When asked to rate their confidence in the ability of various institutions to protect their data, US adults ranked government below smartphone manufacturers and mobile service providers, as well as credit card companies and retailers. Only social media sites scored lower in terms of confidence.

More than a quarter (28%) of respondents also indicated that they are not at all confident that the government can protect their personal data — the highest among each category of organisation — and 21% said they have little confidence. Only 12% are very confident in this regard.

Yet the survey also found that 64% of US adults have already been impacted by some form of data theft, and the most common involves encountering fraudulent credit card charges (41%).

Some 35% have received notices that some form of sensitive information has been compromised, 16% said someone has taken over their email accounts and 13% said someone has taken over a social media account.

Instances directly related to government information were relatively less common, with just 15% stating that they have received notice that their social security number has been compromised and 6% saying someone has impersonated them to file fraudulent tax returns.

The survey also found that 49% of Americans feel their personal information is less secure than it was five years ago, and 70% anticipate major cyber attacks on US public infrastructure over the next five years. But a majority (62%) feel that the US government is at least somewhat prepared to handle these attacks.

Furthermore, despite having these concerns, a substantial number of Americans are failing to follow cybersecurity best practices in their own digital lives, the research found.

Only around 12% ever use password management software, with 65% relying on memorisation to keep track of online passwords and the remaining 18% relying on pen and paper.

Over four in 10 online adults have shared the password to an online account with a friend or family member, and nearly as many (39%) use the same or very similar passwords for many online accounts.

Image courtesy of Alyssa L. Miller under CC

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