Three-Quarters of U.S. Consumers are Less Likely to Make Online Purchases from Small Businesses That Suffer Cyber Attacks, New Cyber Readiness Institute Survey Finds
Non-Profit Initiative Reports Online Shoppers Believe Large Retailers are More Likely to Protect Their Security and Privacy, But Believe Small Retailers Should Offer Same Protections
NEW YORK, Nov. 5, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- As Americans embark on the online holiday shopping season, cybersecurity is top of mind as consumers believe that they should have the same protections, whether they are shopping with a large retailer or a small business, according to a national survey released by the Cyber Readiness Institute (CRI) today.
CRI, which provides free, easy to use tools and policies to reduce the risk of the most common cyber vulnerabilities, found that nearly two-thirds of U.S. consumers expect small businesses to offer the same protections as large retailers. However, just 33% believe that small businesses protect their security and privacy at least as well as large retailers.
In addition, 45% of consumers are less likely and 31% will never shop at a small business that was hacked and lost personal information.
CRI used Survey Monkey to conduct the interactive survey of 528 consumers from Oct. 5-7. The survey has a margin of error of +/- 4%.
"When it comes to cybersecurity, consumers definitely seem more comfortable with large retailers. It doesn't have to be this way. Bigger doesn't have to be better," said Kiersten Todt, managing director of CRI.
Online shoppers spent $122 billion online during the 2018 holiday shopping season, growing by more than 17% year-over-year. For 2019, 87% said that they planned on making an online purchase this holiday season with 35% planning to make an online purchase with a small business.
Other key findings included:
- Only 50% can determine if a shopping site is protecting their security and privacy.
- 55% stopped making an online purchase because of cybersecurity concerns.
- 19% are more likely to buy online from a small business.
- Only 33% researched a vendor's cybersecurity or privacy protections.
- 98% of consumers had purchased a product online and more than 91% had made a purchase using their mobile phone.
Free Small Business Cyber Resources
CRI offers a free Cyber Readiness Starter Kit for small businesses. The Starter Kit includes employee education programs about using secure passwords, updating software with the latest patches and managing the use of USB memory sticks. For organizations that need a more robust approach, CRI also offers the Cyber Readiness Program to provide greater cyber protections. The Program is available in English, Spanish and Portuguese and will be translated into Chinese, Arabic, Japanese and French by year end.
About the Cyber Readiness Institute
CRI is a non-profit initiative that convenes senior business leaders from across sectors and geographic regions to share resources and knowledge that inform the development of free cybersecurity tools for small and medium-sized enterprises. The Institute seeks to advance the cyber readiness of small and medium-sized enterprises to improve the security of global value chains.
For more information, please contact Adam Benson at [email protected] or 202.999.9104.
SOURCE Cyber Readiness Institute
Related Links
https://www.cyberreadinessinstitute.org/
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