One-third of US consumers see biometrics as effective security feature

According to a study conducted by Unisys, which surveyed 11,244 consumers across 12 countries, the levels of concern regarding cybersecurity were comparatively high in certain US industry sectors, such as retail, government and telecom.

Depending on the organization, the expectation that a security breach would likely occur within the next 12 months ranged from 21% for utilities to 44% for retailers. However, the survey shows that consumers in the US are generally less worried about data breaches than those in other countries, with US respondents showing the lowest overall level of concern about likely security breaches among the 12 countries surveyed.

Consumer perceptions regarding the effectiveness of biometrics saw mixed results in the US with about one-third viewing biometrics as effective while a similar percentage of respondents were unsure. The survey also reveals that consumers have mixed feelings about the use of biometrics to protect smartphone data, with only 38% of respondents believing that it strengthens security. Additionally, the survey finds that men are more likely to use biometrics to protect their devices than women.

Finally, the survey found that consumer concerns about unauthorized access to personal data retained by US government agencies is relatively high (39%), which is likely due to the recent publicized breaches.