Over 1/3 Canadians affected by inadequate data security practices

The research found that 78% of consumers will stop spending with a business following a data breach, with 58% reporting that they would avoid a company that’s been hacked for several months, and 20% saying they would never return.

The findings suggest that a combination of recent high-profile breaches, media coverage of new data privacy regulations such as GDPR and Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act, and personal experience have made security a top concern for Canadian consumers.

Consumers reported that simply perceiving a company as having insufficient security practices impacts their trust and spending behaviors, with 30% reporting they would spend more with an organisation they perceive to be trusted and secure, and 35% claiming they would either spend less or stop spending completely with those they believe may have insecure security practices.

Moreover, it’s not just online threats that worry Canadian consumers. When it comes to obtaining data, conducting transactions via the telephone securely is also top of mind – 42% feel uncomfortable sharing credit card information over the phone, and 58% are only comfortable sharing information over the phone to select companies that they either trust or have verified their security measures.

With consumers increasingly wary of businesses’ data privacy practices, the survey also examined what would make consumers feel better about data security. Over half (62%) want companies to undergo regular security audits, another half would feel safer if sensitive personal information was not required for every transaction, and 49% of consumers would feel better if businesses were federally mandated by stricter regulation to protect their data.

PCI Pal conducted market research through Environics Research, surveying 2000 Canadian consumers aged between 18 and 65 years with annual incomes between CAD 30,000 and CAD 650,000 to uncover customer service preferences and security concerns when sharing personal information online and over the telephone.