Page 12 - AeM_May_2017

RESEARCH, ANALYSIS & TRENDS

Ambivalence: Who is responsible for

data protection?

The attitude of customers towards data protection re- This is perhaps not surprising as nearly half (47%) of
mains ambivalent in the digital world, since they believe consumers don't use multi-factor authentication when
the buck stops primarily with the companies when think- accessing their social media accounts. They are not
ing about the protection of their personal data. taking all steps possible to protect their personal infor-
mation.
For its "2016 Data Breaches and Customer Loyalty Re-
port", Gemalto surveyed 9,000 customers worldwide, Social media is used by the masses on a daily basis,
revealing that 70% see the responsibility with the com- and personal information such as date of birth, address
panies and just 30% with the consumers. At the same or phone number etc. is usually easily accessible within
time, however, only one quarter (25%) of the respond- these sites. Should fraudsters gain access to consum-
ents believe that companies take the protection and ers’ social media data, they may find all the necessary
security of their data very seriously. personal information to aid them in stealing an identity
and/or accessing further sensitive information, Gemalto
The survey revealed furthermore that 31% of consum- states in its report. Additionally, just 25% of surveyed
ers have already been affected by data fraud in the consumers that actively use online retail accounts say
past: Around four in ten state the most likely causes for that all of the online retail apps/websites that they use
being a victim of a breach are visiting a fraudulent web- require two-factor authentication to secure online trans-
site (42%), phishing attacks (40%) or clicking a fraudu- actions.
lent web link (37%).
An actual data protection problem would not look good
Anyway, any breach has most likely a detrimental im- and would make companies lose 60% of their custom-
pact on a company’s’ relationships with their customers: ers. Nearly as many customers would turn their backs
For instance, almost all (94%) respondents would take, on their banks in such a case and 56% would leave the
or would consider taking legal action against any of the affected social network.
parties involved in exposing their personal information
in the future. Nearly two-thirds (64%) would be likely to Organizations need to take responsibility for securing
end their relationship with the company if financial and customers’ personal data, as it is less likely that con-
sensitive information was stolen. sumers will do so themselves. Once the right security
solutions are in place, such as encryption and multi-
However, the onus does not, or should not, lie only with factor authentication, companies should consider an
organizations. Consumers can also take measures to education campaign to inform consumers about the
protect themselves against possible breaches. measures. Equally important will be educating consum-
ers about the measures that they can take to protect
Let’s take a look at social media or online banking as their own data, such as using different passwords for
examples: 80% of respondents in the study use social various accounts. In the long term, this will prove ad-
networks, although nearly 60% assume that social me- vantageous for companies and consumers, and leave
dia is a privacy risk, and 87% rely on digital banking, out the fraudsters. ◊
although more than a third feel threatened by cyber-
criminals. By MediaBUZZ
12 May 2017 - (Cyber) Security & Data Protection