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Most Americans Willing to Sacrifice Some Privacy to Enhance Safe Air Travel, Says Unisys Security Index

Ninety-three percent of Americans said they are willing to sacrifice some level of privacy to increase safety when traveling by air, according to research conducted in January and February by Unisys Corporation. Nearly two-thirds of Americans (65 percent) said they are willing to cooperate with full electronic body scans at the airport, and more than half (57 percent) would be willing to submit to identity checks using biometric data such as iris scans or fingerprints. Nearly three quarters of Americans (72 percent) said they are willing to provide personal data in advance of air travel to increase security.

Worries grow over safety of online transactions

The number of consumers seriously concerned about the security of online transactions is at its highest level in three years, according to the latest Unisys Security Index, released Tuesday. In the biannual survey of 1,004 consumers, which measures how safe Americans feel regarding national, financial, internet and personal security, 20 percent of respondents were “extremely concerned” about shopping or banking online, up from 16 percent in September 2009. Another 23 percent said they are “very concerned." Meanwhile, identity theft and national security ranked as Americans' top worries, garnering serious concern from 64 and 65 percent of respondents, respectively.

Poll shows most Americans willing to sacrifice privacy to increase air safety

Ninety-three percent of Americans said they were willing to sacrifice some level of privacy when they flew in order to enhance air safety, according to a survey by Unisys Corp. It also showed that 65 percent said they were willing to cooperate with full body scans at airports; 57 percent said they were willing to submit to identity checks using iris scans or fingerprints, while 72 percent said they were willing to provide personal data in advance of air travel.

Unisys: Travelers will give up biometrics for air travel

The Unisys Security Index states that the majority of travelers would be willing to submit biometrics data for enhanced security and convenience. The latest report surveyed 1,004 people via telephone in late January on concerns regarding national, financial, Internet and personal safety issues. The survey also asked participants questions regarding the misuse of personal data, concerns about debit and credit cards and whether consumers are concerned about security when making purchases online. But when it came to giving up biometrics for quick and convenient air travel 57% of travelers would be up for it, according to the survey. “The majority of people understand the implicit bargain in giving up their information,” says Mark Cohen, vice president of enterprise security at Unisys.

Unisys’ Security Index—Wave 6

Unisys has been doing its global survey on security for a few years now. Discussing wave six findings today is Patricia Titus, Unisys' Federal Systems Chief of Information Security. Patricia explains the background to the project and the addition of a some travel related information. The results seem to indicate that people are becoming "tuned" to the security requirements - there are some exceptions of course. In countries where people have good reason to consider their private information at risk, especially. By doing these waves, Unisys enables its clients to benefit from a consistent methodology and monitor how security is viewed across the globe. Very important information for airlines and airports, as primary connection points in a global economy.

ID Theft, Card Fraud Top Consumer Concerns, Unisys Survey Finds

Identity theft is among the top concerns of American citizens, with 64 percent saying they are seriously concerned about its implications, according to the latest update to the Unisys Security Index, released April 13.

Identity theft fears weigh on Americans: People ‘extremely concerned’ about lost personal data, Unisys study shows

Most Americans remain afraid of identity theft, but their level of anxiety is increasing, according to a survey by Unisys. The study found that 64% are very or extremely concerned about someone stealing their identity, with 31% describing their level of worry as extremely concerned. Six months ago, 65% said they were worried, but only 26% described their fear as extremely concerned.

People Don't Trust the Government to Keep their ID Safe

For all the talk about data security regulations and tech deployments to protect personal data, new research from Unisys suggests the message isn't getting across to consumers. The firm found that only 22 percent of Americans fully trust government agencies to keep personal information secure and private. Banks aren't faring much better, coming in at 29 percent.

Americans willing to scan thumbprints, eyes for cybersecurity

Americans are willing to have their thumbprints and eyeballs scanned to keep cybercriminals from stealing their sensitive data, according to survey results released this week. Of the 583 respondents polled by tech consulting firm Unisys and Leiberman Research, 93% said they would be interested in using fingerprinting to secure their data; 58% said they would be willing to provide biometric data to merchants and financial institutions to verify their identity.

ID theft tops list of American's security concerns

More than the H1N1 flu or their ability to meet financial obligations, Americans are most concerned about identity theft, according to the latest Unisys Security Index released Tuesday. The biannual survey of consumers in nine countries, including 1,005 from the United States, found that 65 percent of American respondents were "seriously concerned" about unauthorized access or misuse of their personal information. Meanwhile, 47 percent said they were seriously concerned about H1N1 and 43 percent about their ability to meet essential financial obligations, the study found.

Gallup, Unisys Polls: Most Americans Worried About ID Theft

Terrorism, auto theft, and murder are less of a crime worry for Americans these days than identity theft, according to a new Gallup poll that found two-thirds of adults worry most about their identities being stolen. And in a separate poll released today by Unisys, close to two-thirds of Americans said they have serious worries about credit- and debit-card theft.

As Economy Worsens, More Americans Fear Card Fraud and Identity Theft

A majority of Americans fear having their identities stolen as well as other types of fraud, particularly involving payment cards, according to a new survey by the Unisys Security Index.

Fears of debit card misuse trumped all other concerns, with 68 percent of respondents saying they are either very or extremely concerned about the likelihood.

America's second strongest concern was identity theft, with 66 percent of respondents concerned.

Tim Kelleher, vice president of enterprise security for Unisys, a security management firm, believes the increasing concerns about misuse of personal information and identity theft has been driven by the recent financial crisis.

Kelleher said the survey shows businesses that they need to reassure their customers that they are doing everything in their power to protect their personal information and secure their payments.

But the risk threatens more than just the security of business networks.

"Consumers, businesses, and governments alike all need to take greater precautions," he said.

The survey, conducted bi-annually since August 2007, measures the American people's fear across four areas: national security, financial security, Internet security, and personal security.

One of the more interesting trends, according to Kelleher, was the drop in fear surrounding matters of national security. Since the first survey, security concerns relating to war or terrorism have disconcerted Americans most. Today, however, those fears have subsided as the economy has deteriorated.

Americans are also not too seriously concerned about the threats posed by viruses or unsolicited e-mail, but the percentage not concerned is about the same as the percentage of Americans who do not use the Internet. Americans are also not too worried about shopping or banking online, according to the survey, because most do not do either activity on the Web.

Kelleher did, however, single out another trend for special attention. The less education people have, the more fear they experienced across each issue area. College graduates are the least fearful population by educational category in the United States, according to the Unisys survey. People with some post secondary education are less fearful than those with a secondary education or less.

Overall, Kelleher said the United States' overall security index has remained relatively constant. The index ranges from zero to 300 with the United States averaging 147 in the first quarter of 2009, or near the median, he said. In the previous survey from November, the Netherlands ranked as the least fearful nation, with a score of 87, while Brazil ranked as the most fearful, scoring 182.

The full global results are due in late April.

Economic fears top American worries

Americans are more afraid of cyber thieves and other fraudsters getting into their wallets than they are of terror attacks on the country, a new survey reports.

Job losses, salary cuts and the general strain of economic uncertainty have increased consumers' fears of getting ripped off, according to the Unisys Security Index.

The bi-annual study samples consumer attitudes about security issues. The most recent survey polled 1,000 Americans and was conducted Feb. 20-22 by the Lieberman Research Group.

Released as federal and state officials launch a crack down on mortgage modification scams that set traps for panicked borrowers, the survey found that nearly three-quarters of Americans believe the global recession has made them more vulnerable to identity theft or some other fraud.

"As the trends show, identity theft is occurring at an exponential rate where you have gone from hundreds of thousands to millions of people having their identity stolen," said Sidney Pearl, Unisys director of Risk Intelligence.

More than two-thirds of respondents said they were ''extremely'' or ''very'' concerned about having their credit card information stolen, and 90 percent are at least somewhat concerned, according to the report, which was released this week.

More than 40 percent of Americans were found to be extremely or very concerned about viruses or unsolicited e-mails. Middle-age Americans, in particular, have deep suspicions about conducting business online. Forty-nine percent of people surveyed in the 45 to 54 age group are ''extremely'' or ''very'' concerned about the security of shopping or banking online.

The survey found a 12 percent uptick in fears about overall financial security since September, the last time a Unisys poll was taken. Economic worries now rank as Americans' number-one security fear. Seventy-five percent of Americans worry about being unable to meet financial obligations.

On the flip side, the report said national security lists low as a concern.

"The financial crisis has replaced the concern over terrorism," Pearl said.

Contact John Boudreau at jboudreau@mercurynews.com or (408) 278-3496.

Financial fears

The economic crisis has given Americans increased jitters about being victims of fraud.

More than two-thirds of Americans are —extremely— or —very— concerned about having their credit card information stolen.
More than 40 percent of Americans were found to be —extremely— or —very— concerned about viruses or unsolicited e-mails.
Two-thirds of Americans are "seriously" concerned about unauthorized access to "” or misuse of "” personal information.
Source: Unisys Security Index

Survey: Financial crisis fuels identity theft fears

Most Americans believe the world financial crisis has increased their risk of identity theft or related crimes, according to the latest Unisys Security Index.

The biannual survey of consumers in nine countries found that more than two-thirds of Americans are "extremely or very concerned" about other people obtaining and using their credit or debit card details -- with 90 percent at least "somewhat concerned."

In addition, computer security remains a major concern. More than 40 percent of Americans are extremely or very concerned about security in relation to viruses or unsolicited emails.

Three-quarters of Americans believe that the world financial crisis will increase the risk that they will personally experience identity theft or related crimes. More than one-quarter believe that the risk will increase substantially.

“Financial security for Americans has moved from third place to front and center, number one,” Tim Kelleher, vice president of enterprise security at Unisys, provider of information technology consulting services, told SCMagazineUS.com Monday. “People feel they are much more financially at risk.”

This has major implications for banks and other financial institutions, as well as internet businesses, he said.

“Banks and businesses need to understand that customers are more wary than ever about using services that may compromise their personal data,” Kelleher said. “If economic concerns increase these fears, companies need new strategies to strengthen customer confidence through accountability and transparency, which also plays to part of the Obama administration's call to action for government and business.”

The U.S. Security Index is based on a random telephone survey of 1,004 persons ages 18 and over. The first wave of the study was conducted in August 2007.

Report: Americans More Worried About Fraud Than Personal Safety

Financial fraud fears eclipse national security worries in Unisys' latest security poll

Three-fourths of Americans believe that the global financial crisis increases their risk of identity theft or related crimes, according to the latest Unisys Corp.'s latest Security Index report.

Financial worries, which jumped about 12 percent from Unisys' last poll in September of 2008, topped national security fears for the first time since Unisys launched the bi-annual report of consumers' security concerns in 2007. The company randomly polled over 1,000 U.S. adults in the latest study, which was conducted in late February.

"With financial [worries], what you really have is people concerned about identity theft and credit card fraud," says Tim Kelleher, vice president and general manager of managed security services at Unisys. Over one-fourth of Americans say their risk of suffering financial fraud has increased "significantly" due to the global economic crisis.

"It's a dramatic change," Kelleher says.

The latest Unisys Security Index comes on the heels of the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) 2008 Annual Report, which found that complains of online crime broke a record last year with a 33.1 percent jump in such cases. The total dollar loss due to online fraud increased by $25 million from the year before, to $265 million. "The higher number of reported complaints and financial impact from those incidents [in the IC3 study] coincides with the raised concerns of Americans in our survey," Unisys' Kelleher says. "We believe this shows that people are more aware of certain security issues, so we'll see if this trend continues."

Among other key findings in the Unisys report: two-thirds of Americans are either "extremely" or "very" worried about credit card and debit card fraud; over 40 percent worry about viruses and unsolicited emails; two-thirds worry about identity theft; and two-thirds of Americans are very concerned about abuse or unauthorized access to their personal information.

"People are still concerned about credit card fraud, and not just over the Internet," Kelleher says. "And their concerns about computer security is rising."

Survey: Credit card fraud a top concern in U.S. as economy melts

This should come as no surprise to anyone, but people in the U.S. 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 on Monday.

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 U.S. was conducted from February 20-22.

'What Are You Doing to Protect My Information?' - Sidney Pearl of Unisys on Consumer Security Concerns

"Knowledge is the currency of the future," says Sidney Pearl, Global Director of Enterprise Security Solution management for the Unisys Global Financial Services business.

And according to the latest Unisys Security Index, Americans are getting much smarter - and more demanding - about the basic information security they expect from government and businesses.

In an exclusive interview, Pearl discusses:

Results of the latest Unisys Security Index;

The security topics that mean the most to U.S. consumers;

What these findings mean for government agencies and banking institutions.

Pearl's Enterprise Security Solutions Management Group has worldwide responsibility for defining and managing the company's Fraud, Risk Management and Enterprise Security services offerings for the financial industry. Unisys provides Security Business Operations services and solutions to financial services clients in over 40 countries.

A majority of Americans are comfortable using common biometric technologies for authentication according to a recent survey conducted by Unisys. More than 70 percent of respondents will trust banks and government agencies to ask them for biometric data for identity verification. Additionally, fingerprints nearly tied personal passwords as the primary preferred authentication method, 73 percent to 72 percent, respectively.

The biometrics survey was conducted alongside the latest installment of the Unisys Security Index, which found that a majority of Americans continue to have strong concerns about identity theft and fraud with their credit and debit cards. Sixty-two percent of Americans said they were extremely or very concerned about the safety of their personal information, and 60 percent expressed serious concern about credit and debit card fraud.

Despite ongoing fears about identity theft and fraud, and a willingness by consumers to adopt biometric technology, many organizations have yet to embrace this technology as an effective way to protect data and identities said Mark Cohn, vice president of enterprise security at Unisys. Risk management only gets more challenging with the current financial crisis. "Sophisticated cybercriminals know how to take advantage of increasing consumer anxiety as well as perhaps weaker internal controls at banks as a result of layoffs and reorganizations. Adoption of advanced biometric technologies as a critical security measure is a possible solution, but it also must be augmented with best practices and stringent policies and procedures."

The Unisys Security Index is a biannual study that gauges consumer views about key security issues. Each survey also includes supplemental research on a security niche topic such as the current data on biometric authentication methods.

Additional key findings of the most recent research include:

* Older and higher income groups significantly favor fingerprint scans, with 76 percent of people aged 35-49 and 50-64, and 79 percent of people earning $50,000 or more approving this verification method.
* Additional consumer preferences for authentication include photographs (69 percent), personal identification numbers (PINs) (69 percent), eye scans (61 percent), voice recognition (55 percent), and face scans (52 percent).
* Americans are significantly less supportive of hand / blood vessel scans, with only 43 percent favoring this authentication method.
* Men and women are willing to use biometrics to verify their identity at similar rates. However, women are less supportive of advanced methods such as eye scans (57 percent) and hand scans (39 percent) when compared with men, 66 percent and 47 percent, respectively.

Biometric authentication technology provides institutions with greater efficiencies and improved authentication accuracy. Businesses and agencies that use these methods also experience increased customer confidence regarding privacy issues Cohn said. "Because U.S. consumer acceptance of biometric data for security verification is increasing, mirroring trends we see around the world, we expect to see these technologies more broadly deployed in the future, from airport security checkpoints to online banks."

Did you know?

More than 75% of Spaniards are seriously concerned about credit/debit card fraud making it the top security concern among consumers

The acceptance of biometrics is growing among Germans and is overtaking the more traditional security methods of pin and pass codes, with 89% now willing to provide fingerprint scans

The risk of misuse of credit and debit card information is the number one security concern in Belgium with 36% of consumers seriously concerned about this threat

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