Experian Cybersecurity Survey

1
Experian Cybersecurity Survey
EDELMAN BERLAND
September 2014

Research Methodology
WHO HOW MANY ACCURACY WHEN HOW
Adults Nationwide
(18+)
n=1,000
Margin of Error =
± 3.1%
Data Collection
Occurred
September 2-5,
2014
Online Survey
RESEARCH OBJECTIVE:
To garner media-genic research around consumers’ online behaviors and perceptions around
cybersecurity habits to protect their identities and credit
2 © Copyright 2014 Daniel J Edelman Inc. Intelligent Engagement

Key Findings
• Consumers recognize the growing importance of cybersecurity and are concerned that
identify theft could impact them in the future
• More than nine in ten respondents agree that identify theft is a growing problem (93%) that people should
be more concerned about (90%).
• Consumers overwhelmingly report taking steps to protect their physical and digital information, but 33% still
do not feel confident that they are doing enough to protect their identity.
• There are many opportunities for consumers to take greater control in securing their personal
information across devices and online accounts
• Three in ten Smartphones are not password protected, and 41% are not enabled for remote tracking and
wiping
• Consumers rarely read privacy statements for mobile apps that are linked to their personal data, and very
few read privacy policy changes or revise their privacy settings on social networks
• A third of consumers feel comfortable sharing their passwords with others (36%) and close browsers
without logging off of their online accounts (32%)
• Most consumers check their bank and credit card statements, but many overlook the value of
a credit monitoring service or reviewing their credit reports for errors or suspicious activity
• Among those who have received a notification that their account information has been compromised, 33%
report taking advantage of an offer for free credit monitoring

Consumers perceive identity theft as a growing threat and are
concerned that it could affect them in the future
93%
90%
Identity Theft Concerns
88%
73%
(Shown: % Agree)
Identity theft is a growing
problem
People should be more
concerned about identity
theft
I understand what could
happen if my identity was
stolen
I am concerned that
identity theft will affect me
in the future
Identity Theft Concerns
(Shown: % Disagree)
No one would want my
identity, theives only want
wealthy people's identities
The chances of having
your identity stolen are
It would be very difficult for
a person to steal my
I rarely worry about my
identity being stolen
Q23-24: How much do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
71%
68%
58%
51%
small
identity

Consumers feel that companies are responsible for protecting their
personally identifiable information, but they are not meeting
expectations
87%
Corporate Responsibility in Cybersecurity
70%
62%
(Shown: % Agree)
Companies that ask for my personally identifiable
information are responsible for protecting it
I am confident that companies that have my
personally identifiable information work to keep it
safe.
Companies are more cyber secure today than
they were 12 months ago

Consumers are taking steps to protect their own identities but many
acknowledge that they could do more to secure their personal
information
91%
88%
Personal Responsibility in Cybersecurity
67%
42%
(Shown: % Agree)
I take steps to secure my digital information
(e.g., privacy settings, passwords, anti-virus
software)
I take steps to secure my physical information
(e.g., shredding personal documents, storing my
Social Security card/number in a secure…
I am confident that I do enough to protect my
identity
It's too much of a hassle to constantly worry
about securing my identity

Password protection, regularly updated malware, and remote wiping
capabilities can help secure consumers’ personal devices
Laptop/
Notebook
Computer
Smartphone
Password Protected Devices
(Shown: % Use a password to unlock)
Desktop
Computer
Tablet eReader
Web-connected
gaming
console
79% 70% 69% 61% 32% 31% 20%
56% OF RESPONDENTS UPDATE
THEIR
ANTI-MALWARE OR ANTI-VIRUS
SOFTWARE ON A YEARLY BASIS
59% OF SMARTPHONE OWNERS AND
39% OF TABLET OWNERS HAVE
ENABLED REMOTE TRACKING AND
WIPING CAPABILITIES ON THESE
DEVICES
Q6: On which, if any, of the following mobile devices have you enabled remote tracking and wiping capabilities?
(Asked if owned each device)
Q7: Which of the following types of devices do you typically use a password to unlock? (Asked if owned each device)
Q13: Do you ever do any of the following? Update anti-malware or anti-virus software on a yearly basis
Standard
mobile phone

Consumers access online accounts through mobile apps without
reading and assessing their privacy policies
50% 50%
(Shown: % Access online account via mobile app)
35% 33%
Mobile Account Usage
25%
20% 19% 18% 16%
10% 8%
22%
OF RESPONDENTS
READ MOBILE APP
PRIVACY POLICIES
BEFORE
DOWNLOADING
THEM
Q10: Which of your online accounts, if any, have you ever accessed through a mobile application or “app” on your smartphone
or tablet? (Asked if use each online account; Results shown off total base)
Q13: Do you ever do any of the following? Review privacy policies of mobile apps before downloading them

Online account users vary their passwords but many use a written
or digital management system and feel comfortable disclosing
passwords to others
Password Variance for Online
Accounts
(Shown: % Selected)
14%
50%
31%
4%
I use the same (1) password
I rotate between several passwords
I use a unique password that I make up myself
I use a unique, randomly-generated password
36%
OF RESPONDENTS
AND
48%
OF MILLENNIALS
FEEL COMFORTABLE
SHARING THEIR
PASSWORDS WITH
FAMILY MEMBERS
OR FRIENDS
25%
OF RESPONDENTS
KEEP A WRITTEN
RECORD OF
PASSWORDS AND
14%
OF RESPONDENTS
USE A PASSWORD
MANAGER
Q12: Which of the following best describes the passwords you use for your online accounts? (Asked if use online accounts, n=966)
Q13: Do you ever do any of the following? Keep a written record of my passwords / Use a password manager
Q24: To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statements? I feel comfortable sharing passwords with family
members or friends

Many social network users personalize their privacy settings but few
review policy changes or manage their preferences on an ongoing
basis
Privacy Settings on Social Networks
48%
38%
32%
(Shown: % Selected)
22%
10%
I set the privacy setting to share only certain
information
I manage my privacy settings on an ongoing basis
I use the privacy settings already in place
I review the privacy policy every time it gets
updated
I have never personally accessed the privacy
settings
41%
OF RESPONDENTS
REVIEW PRIVACY POLICIES
WHEN NOTIFIED OF
CHANGES
18%
OF RESPONDENTS POST
PICTURES CONTAINING
GEOLOCATION
INFORMATION
15%
OF RESPONDENTS POST
PERSONALLY
IDENTIFIABLE
INFORMATION
Q11: Which of the following statements, if any, describe how you use privacy settings on your social network profile(s)? (Asked if
use social networks, n=756)
Q13: Do you ever do any of the following? Review privacy policies when notified of changes by banks, online accounts, etc. / Post
pictures containing geolocation information / Post personally identifiable information to public online accounts

Most monitor their bank and credit card statements but credit
reports, online account preferences, and privacy settings are not
top-of-mind
8% 13%
17%
19%
75% 68%
Check your bank
account
statement(s) for
suspicious activity
Frequency of Financial Monitoring Activities
Check your credit
card statement(s)
for suspicious
activity
Once a month or more Once every 3-6 months Never
Q18: How often do you do each of the following?
(Shown: % Selected)
37%
32%
27% 22% 29%
43% 49%
49%
31% 30% 29% 22%
Log in to your
credit monitoring
account
Review the credit
card numbers
stored with your
online accounts
Check your credit
report for errors or
suspicious activity
Review the
privacy policies for
your online
accounts

Consumers are largely unaware of the security of wi-fi connections
and ways to protect their personal information when using public
wi-fi
Frequency of Open Wi-Fi Usage
(Shown: % Selected)
20%
13%
6%
19%
41%
Daily Weekly Bi-weekly Monthly Unsure
Protecting Information on Open Wi-Fi
(Shown: % Use)
19%
41%
25%
16%
VPN Personal firewall None Unsure
Q15: How often do you use an open Wi-fi connection?
Q17: Which, if any, of the following do you use while connected to public Wi-Fi in order to protect your personal information? ?
(Asked if use open wi-fi connection, n=590)

Open wi-fi connections are used for a variety of online activities that
expose consumers’ personally identifiable information
32%
OF RESPONDENTS
TYPICALLY CLOSE
THE BROWSER
WITHOUT LOGGING
OUT OF THEIR
ONLINE ACCOUNTS
Online Activities on Open Wi-Fi Connections
76%
66%
(Shown: % Selected)
46%
26%
21%
17%
Surf the web
Log in to personal accounts
Access social media accounts
Make an online purchase
Access bank accounts
Access credit card accounts
Q16: Which, if any, of the following types of activities do you do while using an open network? (Asked if use open wi-fi connection,
n=590)
Q9: When you have finished using your online account(s) , which of the following do you do most of the time? (Asked if use online
account, n=966)

Consumers look for secure websites and highly recognized sellers
to protect their personal information when shopping online
47%
45%
43%
Online Shopping Behaviors
(Shown: % Selected)
21%
19%
13%
I always check to see if the site is secure
I only do business with “top” or highly-rated
sellers
I always go to sites directly
I never shop at retailers that have been in
the news with a data breach
I only shop online from larger retailers’
websites
I sometimes shop online while using a
public wi-fi connection
Q14: Which of the following, if any, are true of how you shop online?
TYPICAL ONLINE
PAYMENT METHOD:
36%
DEBIT CARD
45%
CREDIT CARD
14%
CREDIT CARD DEDICATED
FOR ONLINE SHOPPING
ONLY

DATA BREACHES &
IDENTITY THEFT

Three in four consumers have had their personal information lost,
stolen or otherwise compromised
Personal Information Compromised
33%
(Shown: % Personally experienced)
24%
22%
14%
10%
9%
7%
Received notification of
compromised account info
Been a victim of credit card
fraud
Had an email account
hacked
Had a social network
account hacked
Had your identity stolen
Been a victim of a phishing
scam
Had a bank account hacked
Personal Information Lost or Stolen
(Shown: % Personally experienced)
22%
19%
16%
11%
10%
6%
Lost your purse/wallet
Lost your credit/debit card
Had your purse/wallet stolen
Lost your social security card
Had somebody go through
your mail
Lost your medical ID card
Q19: Which of the following, if any, have ever happened to you?
75%
OF
RESPONDENTS
HAVE HAD AT
LEAST ONE OF
THESE
SCENARIOS
HAPPEN TO
THEM

A third of consumers who received notification of compromised
account information signed up for a period of free credit monitoring
Handling Notification of Compromised Account Information
45%
33%
25%
24%
22%
(Shown: % Selected)
16%
12%
8%
The notification letter walked me through what to do
I was offered free credit monitoring and signed up
I changed my personal habits
I cancelled the account
I left it to the company that contacted me to work it out
I contacted the store for additional information
I contacted a credit bureau
I enrolled in credit monitoring on my own
Q20: Which of the following describes how the situation was handled? (Asked if received notification of compromised account
information, n=330)

A quarter of identity theft occurred within the past year; most theft
took weeks or longer to resolve
Time Since Identity Theft
(Shown: % Selected)
27%
9%
Occurred
11%
34% 18%
Within the past year
1-2 years ago
3-5 years ago
6-10 years ago
More than 10 years ago
Time to Discover and Resolve Identity Theft
45%
(Shown: % Discovered, % Resolved)
25%
27%
16%
12%
12%
43%
11%
9%
A day or less
One or more weeks
Months
Years
Still unresolved
How long identity theft had been going on
How long it took to restore identity
Q21: How long ago did you experience identity theft? (Asked if victim of identity theft, n=99)
Q22: How long… Had the identity theft been going on before you discovered it / Did it take for you to restore your identity? (Asked if
victim of identity theft, n=99)

Experian Cybersecurity Survey

More Related Content

What's hot

Similar to Experian Cybersecurity Survey

More from Experian_US

Recently uploaded

Experian Cybersecurity Survey

Editor's Notes