Cyberattacks can have a long-lasting impact on organizations in many ways and on many levels. Consumers lose trust in the companies’ security standards if they fail to protect their personal information. Citizens may even lose confidence in government institutions due to poor cybersecurity practices.
The survey “Americans on Cybersecurity,” from cybersecurity firm PC Matic, revealed that 57% of Americans surveyed don’t believe that the U.S. state and the federal government is prepared to defend itself from evolving cyberthreats. The survey is based on the responses from nearly 1,400 Americans across 50 states.
Key Findings
- Around 61% of Americans believe the federal government should be doing more to protect American citizens from cyberthreats.
- 46% of IT professionals lack confidence in the U.S. Government’s ability to defend itself against a cyberattack.
- Just over 40% of Americans would like to see the U.S. Congress pass cybersecurity-related legislation.
- Only a quarter of Americans believe that the U.S. Congress needs to allocate more funding to preventing cybersecurity attacks.
- Nearly 85% of respondents are worried about losing access to their personal computers and other devices.
- Over 90.01% are worried about identity thefts.
- Around 88% are worried about personal privacy attacks.
“Cybersecurity should be a regular part of the conversation, especially as we become more reliant on internet-connected devices. The average American household has over 10 internet-connected devices. Businesses have more, especially when you factor in the likelihood of employees to connect the personal devices, they travel with to a work network. Americans must have confidence in their government’s ability to defend itself against cyber threats. Cybersecurity is the most imminent threat to our national security, and considering the findings of this survey, it’s important systems be reworked to provide better security and to instill more confidence from the public,” said Rob Cheng, CEO, and Founder of PC Matic.
