Australians more afraid of hackers than terrorists

Adam Turner
Thursday, 07 December 2006 05:07

Your IT - Home IT

Fear of identity theft and credit card fraud outweighs fear of terrorism amongst Australians, according to a quarterly security survey.

While Australians are more relaxed and comfortable than they were three months ago, more than half are still "extremely or very concerned" about the security of their personal information, according to the December Unisys Security Index - a national survey of some 1200 Australians conducted by Newspoll on behalf of Unisys.

After a spike in security fears in September, concern about National Security Issues fell 15 points to 124 over the last three months - the single largest decline out of the four areas canvassed by the Index. Concern over Financial, Internet and Personal security were also down.

"We have clearly moved on from the elevated levels recorded in September which was preceded by international turmoil such as the failed London terror plot and conflict in Lebanon," said Andrew Barkla, general manager and vice president, Unisys Asia Pacific.

"Yet, whilst concerns about war and terror are down, concern about identity theft and financial fraud remain high with more than 50 per cent of Australians extremely or very concerned about both issues. Credit/Debit Card fraud and the unauthorised access to and misuse of personal information have consistently remained the Top 2 concerns of the nation."

According to the most recent survey;

55 per cent of Australians are either extremely or very concerned about unauthorised access to or misuse of their personal information
53 per cent of Australians are very or extremely concerned about other people obtaining credit card / debit card details
45 per cent of Australians are very or extremely concerned about Australia’s national security in relation to war or terrorism