Consumers are hacked off with the web

Relaxnews

A new report from the Internet Society highlights shows that companies are not doing enough to protect themselves from cybercrime and if they continue to do nothing, they are going to start losing customers quickly as consumer confidence in web services is at an all-time low.
The 148-page report condenses and cross-examines data gathered from a wealth of international studies and surveys conducted over the past 12 months and finds some troubling digital trends that should give companies sleepless nights.
Hacking is on the rise as is the cost of being hacked. The overall financial burden of a well-publicized hack now averages $4 million. In 2015, there were 1673 reported breaches that resulted in a combined 707 million records being exposed and in almost every single case, the hack was preventable. “One of the key questions raised by this report is why are organizations doing so little to protect their customers’ data?” said Michael Kende, Economist, Internet Society Fellow and report author. “According to the Online Trust Alliance, 93% of breaches are preventable. And steps to mitigate the cost of breaches that do occur are not taken.”
Just as the likelihood of your car being stolen was reduced by fitting an aftermarket alarm, consumers can take steps to protect themselves from breaches such as refraining from recycling passwords and taking care not to be duped by phishing scams.
But consumers shouldn’t have to carry the burden and one step that is increasingly being taken is to stop using a hacked company’s services — 59% of web users said they would be unlikely to do business with such a company. High-profile hacks are starting to erode consumers’ trust of the web.
“We are at a turning point in the level of trust users are placing in the Internet,” said Olaf Kolkman, Internet Society Chief Internet Technology Officer. “With more of the devices in our pockets now having Internet connectivity, the opportunities for us to lose personal data is extremely high.”
Car crime needed to reach endemic levels before automakers took the issue seriously. But once immobilizers, alarms and tracking devices became standard features, car theft numbers plummeted. “In a day and age where having a positive online presence really is a case of sink or swim for businesses, gambling with online security isn’t an option,” said Kolkman.