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CSI, in partnership with The Harris Poll, recently surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. adults age 18 and above to ascertain their thoughts and fears surrounding cybersecurity and data privacy. The resulting executive report provides key insight into consumers’ greatest cybersecurity concerns, and suggests that financial institutions have a clear opportunity to lead their community’s fight against cybercrime:
- Top cybersecurity issues that worry consumers as related to their personal confidential information are identity theft (73 percent) and stolen credit or debit card information (72 percent) both of which directly relate to banking relationships and functions. If financial institutions take the lead in educating consumers about cybersecurity, they can further solidify their position of trust in the community.
- While 58 percent of consumers say they would leave their financial institution if it suffered a breach, 39 percent only somewhat agree, indicating they could be persuaded to stay by a well-executed incident response. Institutions must always be ready for an incident with an agile and tested incident response plan. In the aftermath of a breach, it will be their last best chance of retaining customers who have a preconceived mindset to leave.
- Nearly one-fourth of consumers (24 percent) say it is okay to use the same password for online banking as for other accounts, a clear opportunity to educate consumers for their own benefit, and yours. Consumers likely do not realize the full ramifications of this practice, and could use help from their financial institution in gaining knowledge on creating safe passwords.
- Nearly 1 in 3 consumers (30 percent) do not know what to do if their personal confidential information is compromised, another key educational opportunity. Financial institutions can play a key role in helping consumers learn proper cyber hygiene, and explain exactly what to do if their personal data becomes compromised.
- More than half of consumers (56 percent) believe a person’s payment information is more likely to be compromised when using a debit card versus a credit card, a glaring misperception that is ripe for correction. If financial institutions can eliminate this unfounded fear about debit card security, they’ll find fertile ground for growing debit card portfolios.
To learn more valuable insight about consumers’ thoughts surrounding cybersecurity, get the CSI 2019 Consumer Cybersecurity Poll Executive Report.
