32% Of Britons Doubt Social Networks’ Data Protection Abilities

Social media platforms are those organisations that Britons tend to trust the least when it comes to private data protection, according to the results of a recent study.

Out of the 1,000 consumers polled by information security specialist Integralis, 32% said that they doubt social networks’ ability to safeguard their personal details, followed by online gaming websites and loan providers.

It seems that retailers should try harder to persuade their customers that they can be counted on in terms of data security too, as just 24% of respondents expressed confidence in supermarkets’ capacity to keep their details secure. This is despite the fact that more than 50% of consumers do the weekly shopping on the web, Integralis noted. Only 36% said that they trust e-commerce websites and 34% don’t question insurers’ success in adequately protecting sensitive information.

These results are well below trust levels scored by the banking industry, as 65% of Britons said that they did not doubt their lenders’ ability to hold their personal payment data in a secure fashion.

Overall, a quarter of Britons don’t trust any organisation as far as terms of online data security goes, according to the research.

Commenting on the findings, Mick Ebsworth, information security consulting practice director at Integralis, warned that consumers’ serious lack of trust in regularly used online companies should ring alarm bells for businesses. Even banks, which are the most trusted by consumers, should take measures to address the issue, he said.