http://www.newsbytes.com/news/01/172880.html By David McGuire, Newsbytes WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 11 Dec 2001, 2:34 PM CST In the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Americans are concerned about the security of both government and commercial electronic networks, according to a poll released today. More than 70 percent of Americans are at least "somewhat concerned" about Internet and computer security in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, according to the poll, which was sponsored by the Information Technology Association of America and security firm Tumbleweed Communications. Roughly 74 percent of Americans are worried that the information they give out online could be stolen or misused, the poll found. The survey, "Keeping the Faith: Government, Information Security and Homeland Cyber Defense," polled 800 randomly selected Americans. The poll findings highlight a difficult "catch-22" for the high-tech industry, ITAA President Harris Miller said today at a Capitol Hill press conference to unveil the study findings. On the one hand, e-commerce companies need to be able to reassure consumers that it is safe for them to use their credit cards online, but on the other hand it is important for the industry not to downplay the very real security threats facing the Internet, Miller said. "We don't want to say 'don't worry be happy' when we know it's not true," Miller said. Miller said that what may eventually be needed is something along the lines of the long-running "Got Milk" campaign adapted for Internet commerce. The poll also highlighted a potential public relations headache for the federal government, as it indicated that 78 percent of Americans were concerned that their government-held personal data could be misused in the future. Only 17 percent of poll respondents reported having "complete faith" that the government has the capacity to prevent cyberattacks against federal agencies. Sen. George Allen, R-Va., and Rep. Stephen Horn, R-Calif., who were on hand for the release of the poll, said that the government in general - and federal agencies in particular - must work harder to develop electronic security protocols worthy of public trust. In November, Horn issued an electronic security "report card" in which federal agencies got an overall grade of "F" for their cybersecurity efforts. ITAA is online at http://www.itaa.org . - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
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