Consumer Cybersecurity Concerns Wane in 2021: CSI Survey

The increasing frequency of data breaches appeared to reduce consumers’ concerns over cybersecurity from 2019 to 2021, according to a new survey from Computer Services, Inc.

In the survey of 2,066 U.S. adults conducted by the Harris Poll on behalf of CSI from June 10-14, 2021, 85% of respondents said they were concerned about cybersecurity as it pertains to their personal confidential data. In a similar survey conducted previously by the Harris Poll on behalf of CSI, 92% expressed the same concerns.

The company said in releasing the report that while the reduced level of concern could be a result of how commonplace ransomware and other cyberattacks have become in consumers’ minds, financial institutions should absolutely not reduce their level of preparedness for attacks. The Paducah, Ky.-based CSI is a provider of core processing, digital banking, payments process, document distribution and compliance solutions to financial institutions and corporations.

“Since many Americans perceive cyberattacks to be beyond their control, it seems they have accepted this risk as part of everyday life,” the report stated. “This acceptance may have resulted in lower security standards and lax practices in their personal lives, further exacerbating the likelihood of falling victim to an attack. And consumers with more tolerance for risk and lower security expectations could have adverse effects for financial institutions, making effective cybersecurity education even more important.”

When asked about the types of cybersecurity concerns that topped their list, 60% of survey respondents named identity theft and stolen debit or credit card information. This represented a drop from 2019, when 73% listed identity theft, followed by stolen card information at 72%. Other top concerns from the 2021 survey included malicious software being installed on their devices (52%), computer viruses and/or worms (50%) and a company they do business with experiencing a data breach (45%). All of these worries pointed to a unique opportunity for credit unions to build trust with members by strategically delivering cybersecurity education, the report said.

“Consumers can take precautions to protect themselves from their top concerns and emerging scams, but financial institutions must also find ways to reach them with useful information. In today’s rapidly changing world, they must meet customers and members where they are and deliver information using the channels most convenient to them, such as email or virtual trainings,” according to the report.

Failing to prepare for a data breach can cost a credit union a chunk of its membership – 48% of survey respondents said they strongly or somewhat agree that they would leave their institution if it suffered a data breach. However, following the trend of dwindling levels of cybersecurity concerns among consumers, 58% of participants responded the same way in 2019.

In the 2021 survey, 59% percent of respondents in the 35-44 age range and 54% of respondents making $100,000 or more a year said a breach would spur their departure from their financial institution – giving institutions cause for concern over the potential loss of key business, the report noted. In addition, just 45% of credit union members said they would leave their credit union over a data breach, compared to 60% of big bank customers and 51% of community bank customers.

CSI recommended that financial institutions take a holistic, layered approach to cybersecurity; implement an incident response plan to direct their actions in the event of a breach; provide multi-factor authentication and reinforce the importance of strong passwords to customers and members; and provide customers and members with resources on best practices for using secure digital payments.

Other findings from the survey included the following:

• More than three in four Americans (76%) believe their financial institution can protect their personal and payment information from hackers. Based on primary financial institution, nearly four in five credit union members (79%) and community bank customers (78%) believe this to be true.
• Thirty percent of consumers believe it is OK to use the same password for an online bank account that they use for other online accounts, which was up from 24% in 2019. Thirty-three percent of big bank customers, 25% of credit union members and 22% of community bank customers believe this to be true.
• A majority of Americans (69%) believe they know what to do if their personal confidential data is compromised. Credit union members are more likely than big bank customers to be confident that they know what to do if their data is compromised (75% vs. 68%)
• Half of Americans believe a person’s payment information is more likely to be compromised when using a physical card versus a digital payment, such as contactless cards or P2P.