97 percent of US consumers are truly bothered by data breaches

29% of respondents said it would take them several months to begin trusting a company again following a data breach. And while 22% of respondents said it would only take them a month to forgive the company, 17% of men and 11% of women said their trust in the company would be lost permanently.

35% of respondents said a data breach reflects sloppiness, 32% said it reflects a lack of professionalism, and 26% said it makes a company a target for lawsuits.

When they learn that a company has been breached, 67% of respondents said they check to see if their information or identity has been compromised, and 35% worry about their information even if theyre not directly connected to the affected company. 29% percent of respondents said learning of data breaches prompts them to focus on improving their online security.

When asked what actions companies should take in response to a data breach, 81% of respondents said the company should inform all those affected, and 72 % said the company should immediately invest in new encryption technology.

Alertsec CEO Ebba Blitz said that when a company has allowed their customers data to fall into the hands of criminals, the resulting lack of trust is difficult to repair, because people’s personal information is, in many ways, the key to their financial and psychological well-being,