According to Ping Identity’s 2018 Consumer Survey, three-quarters of consumers would stop engaging with a brand online following a breach, with half not even willing to sign up for an online service that had recently been compromised.

The survey, ‘Attitudes and Behaviour in a Post-Breach Era’, unveils consumer sentiments and behaviours toward security and brands impacted by data breaches. Ping surveyed more than 3,000 people across the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany to find out what they expect from brands when it comes to the safekeeping of personal information. The survey reveals many consumers are making drastic changes to the ways they interact with companies and secure their own personal data following a breach.

78% of respondents would stop engaging with a brand online and more than one third (36%) would stop engaging altogether if the brand had experienced a breach. Nearly half (49%) wouldn’t even sign up and use an online service or application that recently experienced a data breach.

Almost half (47%) of respondents had made changes to the way they secure their personal data as a result of recent breaches and over half (54%) said they were more concerned with protecting their personal information today than they were a year ago.

“With the prevalence of data breaches and leaks, enterprises must have the proper controls in place or they become at risk of losing consumer trust and business,” said Sarah Squire, CTO Office, Ping Identity.

“In the same way that brands are expected to provide user-friendly experiences, they also must understand the value and importance of strong identity management strategies.”

Squire added, “The findings from our 2018 survey reveal the extent to which consumers value security and rely on the brands they interact with to provide a layer of protection when it comes to their identity and personal information.”

More trust from the younger generation

Ping found the greatest discrepancies in security sentiment and practices between those under 35 and those over 55. While the younger generation has greater confidence in brands’ ability to protect their personal information and is more likely to spend more to ensure their personal information is protected, the older group guards their sensitive information more carefully and is less likely to have experienced financial loss as a result of a data breach.

• 53% of respondents under 35 feel confident or very confident in online services and applications providers’ ability to protect their personal information, compared with 27% of those over 55.
• 54% of respondents under 35 are willing to input their bank information on a website or application, compared with 41% of those over 55.
• 37% of respondents under 35 are not willing to pay anything to ensure their personal information is never breached, compared with 62% of those over 55.

Americans twice as likely to share sensitive information with brands

Similarly, differences in consumer security behaviours varied depending on where they live. Americans are more carefree with their sensitive personal information; the French are not so confident in brands’ ability to protect their personal information; the British are the least likely to have experienced a data breach; and Germans are more likely to abandon Facebook Connect following the Cambridge Analytica scandal.

• Americans are more likely to share their social security numbers with brands than other countries (16%, versus 9% France, 6% Germany and 4% UK).
• The French are the least confident in online services and app providers’ ability to protect personal information (38% are confident or very confident in providers, versus 48% US, 48% UK and 42% Germany).
• UK respondents (15%) are less likely to have experienced a breach than those in the US (27%), France (21%) or Germany (17%). However, of those who have experienced a breach in the UK, 42% experienced a financial loss as a result (versus 24% in the US, 38% in Germany and 43% in France).

“While consumers clearly place a high value on security, the data also shows that there are limits to how much effort they are going to make or how much they are willing to pay for it,” shared Garrett Bekker, principal security analyst, 451 Research.

“This suggests that the burden should fall on vendors and service providers to offer a secure online experience – and rightly so. Consumers don’t go into a restaurant and expect to pay more to ensure they don’t get sick. And if consumers don’t feel secure, the data highlights the cost to vendors in terms of lost customers.”