According to one survey, their opinions and sentiments (relevant only to their own regions’ digital trends and mores) were variously concerning

Based on a June/July 2024 survey of 6,002 consumers in the UK, the US and Australia on their assessments of the digital industry’s data practices, a cybersecurity firm has announced several findings from the data.

First, 73%, 81% and 82% of UK, US and Australia respondents respectively, answered “strongly agree” or “somewhat agree” to a prompt that companies were collecting too much of their personal or financial data. Also, nine out of 10 respondents were concerned that AI will impact how companies keep customer data secure.

Second, 73% of respondents in the UK, 86% in the US, and 87% in Australia indicated that they expected greater diligence from organizations to protect consumers’ personal information that had been collected. More than 90% were deemed to have indicated they could “stop doing business with a company if it were the victim of a cyberattack” if their response ranged from “Highly likely”, “Somewhat likely,” and “Maybe, it depends”.

Other findings

Among the respondents, some 87% in the UK, 92% in the US, and 93% in Australia indicated “Highly likely”, “somewhat likely”, and “Maybe, it depends” to prompts that “AI will make securing and managing their data much more challenging.” Also:

  • 64% in the UK, 72% in the US, and 83% in Australia indicated “Strongly agree” to “Somewhat agree” in response to prompts to that AI can be classified as a risk to data protection and security.
  • 70% in the UK, 81% in the US, and 83% in Australia indicated concerns about the unrestricted or unpoliced use of AI with their data, and wanted greater transparency and regulation.
  • 74% in the UK, 85% in the US, and 88% in Australia indicated “Strongly agree” to “Somewhat agree” to prompts that they need to be asked for permission before their personal or financial data is fed into AI models.
  • 79% in the UK, 87% in the US, and 90% in Australia indicated “Strongly agree” to “Somewhat agree” to prompts that they should want to know who their data is being shared with.
  • 77% in the UK, 85% in the US, and 90% in Australia indicated the same range of responses (“Strongly agree” to “Somewhat agree”) in response to prompts that they call for companies to vet third-party providers’ data security and management practices with access to customer data.
  • 46% in the UK, 75% in the US, and 62% in Australia had indicated having been personally impacted by a cyberattack.
  • 56% in the UK, 52% in the US, and 58% in Australia indicated a range of sentiments ranging from “Somewhat disagree” and “Strongly disagree” to “Neither agree nor disagree” in response to a prompted idea that “companies should pay ransoms.

According to James Blake, Global Cyber ​​Security Strategist, Cohesity, the firm that commissioned the survey: “Companies looking to use AI in-house must invest in the security and hygiene of their data to maintain cyber resilience in order to satisfy these consumers that are willing to vote with their purchases. Those looking to leverage the AI capabilities of suppliers must adopt a strong and proactive approach to third-party risk. Consumer trust is quickly lost, and competitors are always just a click away, so ensuring AI strategies don’t introduce additional risk to customer data is crucial.”