Consumers Hit Back When Companies Are Breached

By Tony Kontzer

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Consumers Hit Back When Companies Are Breached

Weary of the non-stop assault on their personal data and privacy, consumers are shifting their spending to companies that do a better job of protecting them.
Buying Power

In the past year, 35% of the 900 consumers surveyed have chosen not to buy products or services from a company over concerns about data privacy.
Accepting Risk

24% of these consumers conceded that no business is perfect in safeguarding their information.
Trusting Tech

One-third of them trust companies' technology: 17% because they trust the brand, and 16% because they've observed the technology in action.
Walking the Talk

Among the consumers identifying themselves as vigilant on privacy issues, 82% have boycotted a company over such concerns—up from 54% in 2011.
Business vs. Government

Nearly three times as many consumers (37% vs. 13%) said they trust the data security of businesses more than government's—a big shift from 2011, when it was nearly an even split.
Breach Boycotts

22% of the consumers surveyed have stopped purchasing from a company as a result of a data breach.
Knowledge Is Power

33% of those earning $100,000 or more a year and 28% of those with a college degree stop buying from companies that have had breaches.
Identity Theft Is Top Fear

52% of the consumers surveyed list identity theft as their top privacy fear, up from 20% in 2011. That's more than five times the number of people who listed the No. 2 fear, trampling of privacy rights.
Surveillance Tolerated

31% of the consumers believe that U.S. government surveillance has likely thwarted a terrorist attack, and 19% are comfortable exchanging privacy for the security that surveillance provides.
Answers Sought

70% said they'd be more accepting of U.S. government surveillance if the agencies in question shared more about how their programs work and how privacy is being protected.
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Now that consumers have grudgingly accepted a reality in which the growing array of security and privacy threats in the digital world are an unavoidable part of life, they are using their concerns to seize economic power. They have begun tying their purchasing decisions to the seemingly never-ending string of data breaches that have hit large American brands over the past few years. Along those lines, a recent poll of American consumers shows that many people are refusing to do business with companies that could potentially put them at risk. Law firm Morrison & Foerster, a specialist in data breaches, surveyed 900 people and found that growing numbers of them are educating themselves about the security measures companies are taking. Significantly, a growing number of consumers are refusing to do business with companies that do a poor job protecting their customers' personal information. "The findings indicate that a significant percentage of the American people continue to be concerned about numerous facets of security," said Andrew Serwin, co-chair of Morrison & Foerster's global privacy and data security group.

This article was originally published on 2016-04-01

Tony has been writing about the intersection of technology and business for more than 20 years and currently freelances from the Grass Valley, Calif., home where he and his wife are raising their two boys. A 1988 graduate of the University of Missouri-Columbia School of Journalism and regular contributor to Baseline since 2007, Tony's somewhat infrequent Twitter posts can be found at http://twitter.com/tkontzer.

Consumers Hit Back When Companies Are Breached

Consumers Hit Back When Companies Are Breached

Buying Power

Accepting Risk

Trusting Tech

Walking the Talk

Business vs. Government

Breach Boycotts

Knowledge Is Power

Identity Theft Is Top Fear

Surveillance Tolerated

Answers Sought