Do not Let Cybersecurity Threats Slow Productivity and Economic Growth
Trust is an essential underpinning of life in the digital age. We trust our friends on Facebook not to share our private family photos. We trust our email clients and antivirus software to keep viruses and spam at bay. But for many people, the risks of using the internet are scary enough to curb their online activities.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) looked at the results of a survey by the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015. Out of 41,000 U.S. households, 19% reported security breaches, identity theft, or other malicious activity in the previous 12 months. Among households with mobile data plans, 22% had experienced an online security breach. The most pressing concern, cited by 63% of online households, was identity theft, followed by credit card or banking fraud, and various forms of data collection.
