People in the United States are worried that as the economy worsens, the chances for identity fraud, particularly with regard to credit card data theft, will increase.
Nearly 75 percent of Americans believe that the global financial crisis increases their risk of identity and related fraud, according to the Unisys Security Index due to be released this week.
More than two-thirds surveyed said they are extremely or very concerned about other people obtaining and using their credit and debit card data, with 90 percent at least somewhat concerned.
Credit and debit card fraud is the top security concern for people, with 68 percent saying they are extremely or very concerned. And 66 percent said they are seriously concerned about unauthorized access to or misuse of personal information.
More than 40 percent of respondents said they are extremely or very concerned about security related to viruses and unsolicited e-mail.
Overall, people are more worried about their financial security and less worried about national security than in previous surveys, according to the survey.
The survey of more than 1,000 respondents in the United States was conducted from February 20-22.
This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.
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Credit card fraud a top concern in US as economy melts
Most companies enjoy "security" insofar as they haven't been targeted, or had an employee make a human error with catastrophic exposure. Price Waterhouse Cooper and Carnegie-Mellon's CyLab have recent surveys that show the senior executive class to be, basically, clueless regarding IT risk and its tie to overall enterprise (business) risk. Data breaches and thefts are due to a lagging business culture--absent new eCulture, breaches will, and continue to, increase. As CIO, I'm constantly seeking things that work, in hopes that good ideas make their way back to me - check your local library: A book that is required reading is "I.T. WARS: Managing the Business-Technology Weave in the New Millennium." It also helps outside agencies understand your values and practices.
The author, David Scott, has an interview that is a great exposure: www.businessforum.com/DScott_02.html -
The book came to us as a tip from an intern who attended a course at University of Wisconsin, where the book is an MBA text. It has helped us to understand that, while various systems of security are important, no system can overcome laxity, ignorance, or deliberate intent to harm. Necessary is a sustained culture and awareness; an efficient prism through which every activity is viewed from a security perspective prior to action.
In the realm of risk, unmanaged possibilities become probabilitie...read the book BEFORE you suffer a bad outcome--or propagate one.
Posted by John Franks on Monday, April 06 2009 11:36 PM