New survey data from biometric security specialist Hoyos Labs reveals somewhat confused consumer attitudes toward digital security.
The survey polled 1000 smartphone owners who plan to do some holiday shopping online, and found that only 10 percent of them considered passwords to be secure, with 33 percent feeling that biometrics offer more security. Despite these consumers’ concerns about password security, over half of them said they use the same password for multiple accounts, and 27 percent said they rarely change their passwords.
While these results indicate worrying trends in consumer behavior, they at least show a relatively strong awareness of password security issues. Moreover, the fact that 67 percent of respondents said they would avoid shopping over public wifi also suggests that most consumers understand the vulnerability of their data when being transmitted over a network, which implies that the kind of end-to-end encryption sported by Apple devices does indeed have a certain market appeal.
As mPayments continue to rise in popularity and major financial institutions increasingly turn to biometric security solutions, it’s possible that consumer attitudes toward digital security will grow more sophisticated, and indeed behavior could change as consumers get used to scanning their fingers or irises for authentication on various electronic devices.
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