Report: 33% of global consumers are victims of data breaches via hacked personal data held by the company

Thales Consumer Digital Trust Index 2022 revealed that consumer confidence in online organizations’ ability to protect their data is out of step with reality. One in three consumers worldwide have experienced a data breach from a company holding their personal data.

The report highlights the latest global data breach trends and the severe impact they have had on consumer trust across industries, including the likelihood of consumers continuing to do business with an organization after the incident.

Are consumers overconfident?

Organizations today no longer wonder if a data breach will happen, but when. Yet despite organizations’ awareness of the current cybersecurity landscape, the findings highlight that this awareness is not necessarily transmitting to consumers. While 33% of consumers worldwide have experienced a data breach, 82% of consumers still believe to some degree that online digital service providers will protect their personal data.

However, 82% of data breach victims saw a negative impact on their lives.

Location can affect consumer confidence. Violations occur at varying rates around the world. Yet consumers in countries with lower violation rates were not necessarily more confident than those in countries with higher rates. The United States has one of the highest percentages of consumers who are victims of data breaches (48%). Yet consumer confidence is higher in the US (80%) than in regions with fewer breaches, such as Germany, Australia and the UK.

Consumer confidence in the security of their data also varied by industry. The finance and healthcare sectors command the highest trust (although still only at 42% and 37% respectively), with media/entertainment and government receiving the lowest (12% and 14% respectively). %).

Data breaches may not diminish consumer trust, but they do impact how consumers perceive their role in data protection. Victims are more likely to take extra precautions to protect personal data.

Breaches are also influencing what consumers expect from organizations, with 54% believing companies should be required to adopt mandatory data protection controls, such as encryption and two-factor authentication. following a data breach. More than a fifth of consumers have stopped using a company that suffered a data breach.

Methodology

More than 21,000 adult consumers in 11 countries and five continents were surveyed in Thales’s 2022 Thales Consumer Digital Trust Index. The report was produced by Opinium, and in partnership with the University of Warwick.

Read the full Thales report.