At a glance.
- Are consumers in a no-win relationship with digital services?
- Trends in identity theft.
Are consumers in a no-win relationship with digital services?
A recent study on consumer perceptions of data privacy and trust in digital service providers shows that most users are trapped in a Catch-22: they must share their personal data in order to access digital services, but they know that sharing such data could put them at risk. According to the survey, conducted by cybersecurity firm Imperva, half of consumers say they share data with so many different companies that it’s impossible to understand the cybersecurity measures of each one. As result, 26% have just thrown up their hands in defeat, feeling it’s “inevitable” that their data will be leaked. 35% of respondents say they don’t trust any industry to adequately safeguard their data, and they feel the most untrustworthy industry is retail, with just a 5% trust score. Interestingly, despite this, some respondents still feel compelled to divulge secrets on the web: 16% shared their sexual fantasies, 14% have posted offensive comments, and 10% have confessed to cheating on their partner. What’s more, a whopping 79% of those who have discussed such private topics acknowledge they could face serious consequences, like loss of job or custody of their children, if those secrets ever surface. So what can be done? Imperva SVP and Field CTO Terry Ray told Help Net Security, “Businesses need to focus on who is accessing their data and protecting the paths a cybercriminal might exploit to get to the data. Investing in data-centric security must be part of every organization’s strategy as consumers grow increasingly cynical of the services they use.”
Trends in identity theft.
Turning our attention to another survey, the Identity Theft Resource Center has released its First Quarter 2022 Data Breach Analysis. The major takeaway is that data compromises are already on the rise, but the number of victims impacted is decreasing. Last year saw a record-breaking number of data compromises, but 2022 is already on track to surpass 2021 with the highest number of data compromises (404) in the past three years, a 14% increase over Q1 2021. This number is even more alarming when you consider that Q1 typically sees the lowest number of breaches each year. Cyberattacks make up 92% of all data compromises reported, and phishing, ransomware, and malware are the top three causes. However, 154 out of 367 data breach notices did not disclose the cause, making “unknown” the winner for largest attack vector. The healthcare, financial services, manufacturing and utilities, and professional services sectors were the hardest hit by cyberincidents. That said, the total number of individual victims (20.7 million) has actually decreased by 41% compared to last quarter and by 50% compared to Q1 2021.