http://news.com.au/technology_story/0,6257,3516222%255E15318,00.html Barbara Gengler 01-01-2002 MORE than 70 per cent of Americans say they are concerned about internet and computer security, according to a recent poll. Another 74 per cent expressed fears that their personal information on the net could be stolen or used for malicious purposes, according to the results of a national poll released by the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA) and managed secure communications specialist, Tumbleweed Communications. An equal number said they were concerned that cyber-attacks could target critical infrastructure, such as phone networks or power plants. The poll, called Keeping the Faith: Government, Information Security and Homeland Cyber Defense, is based on a telephone survey of 800 adults on November 26 and 27, conducted by Luntz Research. Seventy four per cent of the respondents expressed worries about terrorists using the internet to launch cyber-attacks against critical infrastructure. Thirty-seven per cent said they were very concerned while another 37 per cent said they are somewhat concerned. The poll found that despite the fears, respondents failed to register major changes in online behaviour as a result of the September 11 attacks or The War on Terror. While only 17 per cent said they had complete faith in the ability of the US government to prevent cyber attacks against agencies, 54 per cent said they had some faith. Only 17 per cent said they had very little faith. ITAA spokesman Bob Cohen said the group was surprised by the level of concern that respondents expressed about attacks on critical infrastructure. "We think it's notable that the public retains confidence that the federal government will be able to assure the security of its information systems and does not appear to be particularly troubled by the possibility of unwarranted government surveillance," he said. Few in the survey said they were concerned that in the post-September 11 environment their email would be subjected to government sleuthing and only 10 per cent said they were a lot more concerned about federal authorities monitoring or reading their email, while 14 per cent said they were somewhat more concerned. Only 5 per cent said they found themselves using the internet more for updates and information, while 34 per cent said their usage had stayed the same. Seven per cent said they use the internet a lot less since the September 11. Even with the Anthrax scare, email has not become a replacement for paper mail. Fifty-five per cent said their use of email had not changed, while 35 per cent said they did not use email. Only three per cent said they had made a significant shift to email to avoid paper mail. - ISN is currently hosted by Attrition.org To unsubscribe email majordomoat_private with 'unsubscribe isn' in the BODY of the mail.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Wed Jan 02 2002 - 02:48:05 PST