53% of consumers who say they are active internet users do not believe that Facebook’s storefronts are committed to protecting them against fraud, with a further 23% saying they are unsure, according to [download page] a study released in December 2011 by ThreatMetrix in partnership with the Ponemon Institute. In fact, 51% of respondents say that Google is more effective than Facebook at keeping them safe from online criminals, and only 20% have purchased something directly within Facebook.
According to an Oracle study released in December 2011, 34% of American and Canadian consumers say they would never purchase products via a retailer’s Facebook page, compared to 19% who said they would (9%) or already have (10%) done so.
Security Concerns Impact Mobile Banking
Data from the “Mobile Payments and Online Shopping Survey” indicates that of the 29% of respondents who conduct mobile banking, the leading reason for doing so is convenience (51%) and increased security (25%). In fact, two-thirds of the consumers who use mobile banking feel completely or partially protected. However, 51% of those who do not engage in mobile banking say it is because of diminished security.
Overall, 51% of respondents believe the fraud risk is the same on a smartphone, tablet, desktop, and laptop computer. Only 19% say fraud risk is higher on a smartphone or tablet than on a desktop or laptop computer, while almost 1 in 3 consumers believe fraud risk to be lower on a smartphone or tablet. These figures differ from results of a National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and McAfee study released in November 2011, which found that 51% of US consumers feel safest accessing the internet with a desktop or laptop, while just 1 in 10 feel safest using their smartphone and only 4% using their tablet.
Healthcare Orgs Lax With Mobile Security
Meanwhile, a separate Ponemon Institute study [download page] released in December contains some troubling figures regarding patient medical information security on mobile devices: of the 81% of healthcare organizations who use mobile devices to collect, store, and/or transmit patient health information, half say they do not do anything to safeguard patient data on the devices, while 46% depend on policies and governance and only 23% use encryption. As a result, only 15% are very confident and 23% somewhat confident that patient data is protected from being accessed via mobile devices.
Healthcare Data Breaches Seen Widespread
Data from the “Second Annual Benchmark Study on Patient Privacy & Data Security” indicates that data breaches in healthcare organizations are on the rise: 96% of respondents say their organization has had at least one data breach in the past 2 years, with the average number of incidents increasing this year to 4.08 from 3.09 in 2010.
Overall, the majority of respondents have little (33%) or no (24%) confidence in their organizations’ ability to detect all patient data loss or theft.
Other Findings:
- According to the ThreatMetrix study, to protect themselves from online fraud and other abuses, 56% of respondents only use mobile banking applications that they trust, 55% know where their computer or mobile device is at all times, and 52% only shop at websites that they know and trust.
- 84% of respondents say that a commitment to prevent fraud is either very important or important when selecting an online payment service provider.
About the Data: The mobile payments and online shopping study surveyed 722 US consumers who self-reported that they are active users of the internet. On average, respondents spend 24 hours per week on the internet, and 57% make purchases daily or weekly.
The healthcare study used a benchmark sample of 72 healthcare organizations. 57% were private, and 41% contained 301 to 600 beds.
