Two in Five US Internet Users Had Personal Data Compromised in the Past Year

Some 40% of US consumers received a notice in the past year that personal information such as username, password, credit card number, social security number or national insurance number had been compromised and 70% changed their passwords in response, according to Consumer Account Security Report, a study conducted by Qualtrics and SSI.

Source: Wikipedia

About one-quarter had accounts hacked, and nearly a fifth had passwords stolen.

Nearly 80% of consumers worry about online security, and 45% are extremely or very concerned about their accounts being hacked, but only a third are confident that passwords will protect their online accounts.

US consumers have an average of 24 online accounts, but use only six passwords to protect them. A main security issue is that 73% of accounts use duplicate passwords and consumers rarely change their passwords, while 47% use a password that hasn`t been changed in five or more years and 77 percent have a password that is at least a year old.

“Even while lacking trust in passwords and being worried about being hacked, consumers are falling short of taking steps to protect themselves either due to lack of awareness or lack of education on additional security measures. They would like the added protection of two-factor authentication because it adds an extra layer of protection, but many don`t know where to start or how to set it up,” the authors of the study stated.

61% of consumers have not enabled two-factor authentication for any online accounts. Here is a simple guide that helps you enable this feature.

The study involved 2,020 adults in the US who have a mobile phone and at least one online account.