Study Claims Marketers Don’t Care About Consumer Data Protection!

With the recent announcement of President Obama’s cybersecurity executive order and the Cyber Intelligence Sharing and Protection Act’s reintroduction, there is renewed emphasis placed on data and privacy for both marketers and consumers. With the recent campaigning by government officials, consumers are become increasingly aware and more vigilant in the acquisition of their personal data including how it’s obtained, stored, and used. Ongoing privacy policy changes by social networking sites are expected to continue to erode consumer trust with online marketers. Consumers are now demanding more control of their own personal data. A recent study produced in a coordinated effort by the Ponemon Institute, which conducts independent research on consumer trust, privacy, data protection and emerging data security technologies, and the Edelman Privacy Risk Index that helps organizations better understand security and privacy risks and their impact on corporate reputation, found that 60 percent of 6,400 executives surveyed in 20 countries said their companies don't consider privacy a priority, and more than half don't believe that a data breach would adversely affect their corporate reputations. Edelman also reports that 80 percent of customers would leave banking institutions in the event their personal data was accessed without permission, and 70 percent would discharge health care providers that did so.