BLUE BELL, Pa., July 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- U.S. consumers
largely support sharing personal data with police or healthcare
providers via smart devices, but enthusiasm varies depending on why
and by whom the data is collected and how it is to be used,
according to the 2017 Unisys Security Index™.
Survey results in the U.S. found:
- Eighty-four percent of
Americans surveyed support using a button on their phones or
smartwatches to alert police to their location during emergencies.
By contrast, only 32 percent of Americans support police being able
to monitor fitness tracker data anytime to determine their
location.
- More than three-quarters of U.S. respondents registered support
for Safe Cities technologies ranging from sensors that can
automatically detect harmful chemicals or radiation (86 percent of
respondents said this technology would make them feel safer) to
sensors that can determine where and when a gun has been fired and
automatically notify police (76 percent).
- Seventy-seven percent of U.S. respondents said they would feel
safer with the deployment of both video surveillance systems that
can detect suspicious behavior and automatically notify police. The
same percentage support equipping police with facial recognition
technology to enable them to identify criminals who should be
apprehended.
- American consumers registered high support for the ability of
medical devices such as pacemakers or blood sugar sensors to
immediately transmit significant changes to a patient's doctor,
with 78 percent of respondents supportive.
- Only about one in three American respondents (36 percent)
support health insurers accessing fitness tracker data to determine
a premium or reward customers for good behavior.
"Americans want to obtain the efficiencies and security benefits
of the Internet of Things (IoT), but not at the expense of losing
control of their personal data," said Bill
Searcy, vice president, Justice, Law Enforcement and Border
Security for Unisys and a former FBI deputy assistant director.
"For the IoT to succeed, governments, healthcare organizations,
financial institutions and other enterprises must take steps to
assure the public that personal data collected from IoT devices
will be secure and that privacy will be protected."
Support for IoT for Broad Range of
Applications
Smart devices, part of the IoT
phenomenon, refer to objects or systems that can connect and
exchange information over the Internet. Unisys Corporation (NYSE:
UIS) examined consumer reaction to the trend as part of the 2017
Unisys Security Index – a global study that gauges the attitudes of
consumers on a wide range of security issues. The study polled more
than 1,000 adults in the U.S. during April
2017.
Americans generally support IoT applications that promote
security and convenience. Beyond support for IoT technology for law
enforcement and healthcare, U.S. consumers said they also see
potential value in areas such as air travel and banking.
For example, 70 percent of U.S. respondents support the use of
sensors in luggage that communicate with an airport's baggage
management system and an app on mobile phones to tell them when
their luggage has been unloaded and on what carousel it will be.
Americans were divided on support for using a smartwatch app from a
bank or credit card company to make payments, with 40 percent
supportive and 40 percent against it.
Barriers to IoT Acceptance
Most U.S.
respondents who did not support some IoT applications reported that
they simply did not want various organizations to obtain
information about them. Also, many said they did not see a
compelling need for the organizations to obtain the data.
Nearly half (49 percent) of those who did not support using a
smartwatch app from a bank or credit card company to make payments
said they were most worried about the security of those
transactions.
When asked specifically about their concerns about hackers or
malicious intruders gaining access to their financial transactions,
more than 90 percent of U.S. respondents registered some level of
concern about the security of transactions using mobile devices or
computer – with nearly 60 percent reporting they are "very" or
"extremely" concerned about the security of those transactions.
A large majority of U.S. respondents also registered concern
about the possibility of hackers or malicious intruders gaining
access to internet-connected medical devices such as
defibrillators, pacemakers or insulin pumps belonging to them or
someone they know – with 78 percent reporting some level of concern
and 51 percent "very" or "extremely" concerned.
"Banks and other financial institutions can address consumer
concerns around data security of smartwatch payment channels
through a multi-pronged approach that addresses both policy and
technology – such as the use of biometrics," said Eric Crabtree, vice president and global head of
Unisys Financial Services. "These types of technological advances
can more quickly and accurately determine whether a transaction is
fraudulent, giving customers a greater sense of security."
Download the full report of U.S. results
here.
To download the Unisys Security Index infographics or more
information, click here.
About the Unisys Security Index
Unisys has
conducted the Unisys Security Index – the only recurring snapshot
of security concerns conducted globally – since 2007 in order to
provide an ongoing, statistically-robust measure of concern about
security. The index is a calculated score out of 300 covering
changing consumer attitudes over time across eight areas of
security in four categories: national security and
disaster/epidemic, in the National Security category; bankcard
fraud and financial obligations, in the Financial Security
category; viruses/hacking and online transactions, in the Internet
Security category; and identity theft and personal safety, in the
Personal Security category. The 2017 Unisys Security Index is based
on online surveys conducted between April
6-18, 2017 of nationally representative samples of at least
1,000 adults in each of the following countries: Argentina, Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New
Zealand, Philippines, the
U.S. and the U.K. The margin of error at a country level is +/-3.1
percent at 95 percent confidence level, and 0.9 percent at a global
level. For more information on the 2017 Unisys Security Index,
visit http://www.unisys.com/unisys-security-index.
About Unisys
Unisys is a global information
technology company that specializes in providing industry-focused
solutions integrated with leading-edge security to clients in the
government, financial services and commercial markets. Unisys
offerings include security solutions, advanced data analytics,
cloud and infrastructure services, application services and
application and server software. For more information, visit
www.unisys.com.
Follow Unisys on Twitter and LinkedIn.
RELEASE NO.: 0725/9524
Unisys and other Unisys products and services mentioned herein,
as well as their respective logos, are trademarks or registered
trademarks of Unisys Corporation. Any other brand or product
referenced herein is acknowledged to be a trademark or registered
trademark of its respective holder.
UIS-C
View original
content:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/more-than-80-percent-of-americans-support-technology-that-alerts-police-to-their-location-during-an-emergency-while-less-than-one-third-want-their-whereabouts-to-be-monitored-continuously-according-to-unisys-security-index-300493111.html
SOURCE Unisys Corporation