Thus, 86 percent of UK Internet users admit that at some point in their surfing they have revealed their postcode, while an almost equally high percentage says they have revealed their date of birth. Other types of sensitive data revealed are mother’s maiden name (34 percent of interviewees) and place of birth (revealed by 10 percent of respondents). Paradoxically, 79 percent of users who admit to revealing personal information online also admit they have concerns regarding fraud.
Security experts warn that that such information can grant fraudsters access to various public or private records and warn online shopping and social networking sites to change their data collection practices and stop requesting such details when signing up new users. Despite this fact, marketers continue to require people to register these details before they shop online, join a social networking group or receive regular updates/newsletters. The survey points out that most Internet users who reveal such private data are aware of the personal data theft cases affecting the UK in 2008 – HSBC’s loss of 370.000 customer records prominent among them and still they continue revealing this type of information online.
The survey also points out that 88 percent of respondents reveal their personal data online more than once or twice a week and that young adults aged 16 to 24 are less likely to reveal such data. The same population segment also manifests the most concerns when it comes to verifying a website’s legitimacy, with 40 percent of young respondents indicating that they seek reassurance from a third party before giving personal information away. The percentage is significantly lower for other age groups. Thus, 18 percent of those aged 25 to 34 verify a website’s legitimacy, while for the 35 to 44 and 45 to 54 age brackets the figures drop to 12 percent and 11 percent, respectively.
The survey was conducted by online market research company Tickbox.net for The International Information Systems Security Certification Consortium (ISC) 2.
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