Americans Don’t Trust Institutions To Protect Their Digital Security

According to new data released by the Pew Research Center, the majority of Americans have at this point been hacked or otherwise have had their data or identity stolen.  The study also found that Americans are becoming increasingly less sure that their personal data is secure — and generally lack confidence that the various institutions tasked with protecting their digital safety are actually up to the job of keeping their data safe from misuse.

The study also found that a majority of Americans are also fairly sure that cyberattacks are a new way of life.

Among other notable findings, the study found 41 percent of Americans have encountered fraudulent charges on their credit cards, 35 percent have received notices that some type of sensitive information (like an account number) had been compromised, 16 percent say that someone has taken over their email accounts, and 13 percent say someone has taken over one of their social media accounts.

Given all of those personal experiences, it isn’t much of a shock that almost half (49 percent) of all Americans feel their data is less safe than it was five years ago.

As for who is watching out for their privacy…

Among Americans, 28 percent do not feel confident that the federal government can keep their data safe from cybercriminals, slightly more than the 24 percent of all Americans who do not believe their social media platform can protect their data accurately. By contrast, just 12% of Americans (and 9% of social media users) have a very high level of confidence that these entities can keep their personal information safe and secure.

Despite that, however, a large share of respondents did admit that they do not always incorporate cybersecurity best practices into their own digital lives. Only 12 percent said they regularly change their passwords. The rest either memorize it or write it down on a piece of paper.  Meanwhile, 41 percent of online adults have shared the password to one of their online accounts with a friend or family member and 39 percent admit to using the same password for all accounts.

There were some areas of positive regard. About half (52 percent) report that they use two-step authentication on at least some of their online accounts.

And, notably, Americans don’t seem overly troubled by the proliferation of cyberattacks, even if they are a bit resigned to them — around 60 percent noted that the prospect of being hacked didn’t cause much in the way of anxiety.