Less than third trust local government with data security

Less than one in three people trust local government agencies to protect confidential information, according to a new survey.

The study by polling firm NOP of 999 adults found that 27 per cent scored local government's ability to secure personal data from external threats either one or two on a scale of five. Banks fared better with 57 per cent of people awarding four or five out of five for data protection. A score of one meant that the respondent felt information held by an organisation was "not at all secure", a score of five meant data was "extremely secure".

The research also found that 43 per cent of respondents said are put off shopping or banking online by security concerns. Only 35 per cent of people felt "very confident" in their employers' ability to keep confidential records secure. Just over of third (34 per cent) felt that data was more secure in the days when data was stored on paper than now where it is stored on disk.

Mark Pearce, a security specialist at Enterasys Networks, the company who commissioned the survey, said the survey showed that individuals have "little confidence in the ability of either their employer or public organisations to effectively protect their confidential data from prying eyes."

"Without doubt, the public is much more aware today of the vast array of cyber threats to businesses," said Pearce. "British businesses are often fearful to discuss publicly what steps they are taking to improve security internally but unless we can convince more people that their data is actually secure they will vote with their feet and refuse to take advantage of the immense commercial advantages that digital business offers."

He added that most effective way for businesses to accomplish this was to ensure that their networks are highly secure and spread that message to consumers.

Ian Yarlott, comsumer business director at Trend Micro agreed that consumers must be educated "to be more cautious when sharing their personal and financial details over the internet."

"The IT security industry has seen a change in how threats have developed over the years. Now we're more likely to be effected by the more serious and dangerous threats that have been developed for profiteering reasons e.g. online ID theft," said Yarlott.

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