A large majority – 73% – of those whose private data had been compromised in massive data breaches were never actually been notified that their sensitive personal data could now be in the hands of cyber criminals, according to a data breach notification survey carried out by the Center for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) and Ipsos.
Indicative of the massive scope of today’s data breaches, the personal data of 68 million or more Dropbox account holders were compromised in a recent incident, CIGI highlights in a recent press release.
Data Breach Notification Survey Findings
Nearly half – 47% – of those who had been notified that their personal data had been accessed have not suffered any financial losses, according to an analysis of CIGI-Ipsos’s 2016 and 2014 Global Surveys on Internet Security and Trust. Another 44% reported that loss of their personal data in a breach cost them virtually nothing or no more than $1,000. That may contribute to cultivating a false sense of security.
Nonetheless, the intangible costs of data breaches can be substantial, according to CIGI and Ipsos’s findings. “Although citizens largely report minimal financial losses from personal data breaches, many of the effects may be less visible,” Michael Chertoff, former secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security and member of the Global Commission on Internet Governance, pointed out.
“Victims can experience damage to reputation and privacy. The uncomfortable truth is that the openness of the Internet also yields many opportunities for bad actors to breach users’ trust.”
Actions to do with online privacy being taken by Internet companies, as well as cyber criminals, is contributing to concerns and unease among those who are more concerned than they were a year ago about online privacy, according to the market research partners.
“If the level of confusion and distrust among global citizens concerning how their data is treated online continues to grow, the worst case scenario we may face is the possibility that individuals will begin to lose trust and disconnect from the network all together,” commented Sir David Omand, former director of the UK GCHQ and another member of the Global Commission on Internet Governance.
“To address these issues, companies and governments need to do more to keep the public informed about what happens to their private data.”
The two global surveys, which reached 24,143 people in 24 countries, were commissioned by CIGI and conducted by Ipsos as part of a two-year initiative launched in partnership with U.K.-based Chatham House aimed at crafting and promoting a strategic vision of Internet governance.
All the results and additional survey data from the 2014 and 2016 CIGI/Ipsos Global Surveys on Internet Security and Trust are analyzed extensively in a forthcoming book entitled, “Look Who’s Watching: Surveillance, Treachery and Trust Online” authored by Fen Hampson, CIGI Distinguished Fellow and Director of the Global Security and Politics Program, and Eric Jardine, CIGI Fellow and Assistant Professor of Political Science at Virginia Tech.