Simon Hendery: We are low on paranoia despite financial security worry

According to a survey published last week, New Zealanders are more worried about having their identity stolen than they are about the threat of terrorism or a pandemic outbreak.

Corporate IT behemoth Unisys says it devised its new Security Index Survey to put some context around people's concerns about different types of security issues.

The good news out of the survey is that New Zealanders do not appear to be an overly paranoid bunch. On the survey's concern scale of 0 to 300 we stayed on the happy and relaxed side of the dial for all four of the security categories the survey investigated.

Financial security was the biggest concern, registering 127 out of 300. This includes worries about meeting financial obligations and having your credit card details stolen and used.

Personal security came next, clocking up 120 out of 300 on the concern-o-meter. Respondents were asked how worried they were about unauthorised access and misuse of their personal information and their general personal safety.

National security rated 107 out of 300. It seems we're only moderately concerned about the threats of war, terrorism and the country being hit by a health epidemic.

Finally, internet security - concerns around viruses, spam and online shopping and banking - rated a lowly 103 out of 300.

Despite the plight of inboxes filled with spam, it seems that the endless flood of messages touting anti-impotency solutions we're subjected to remains less of a worry than how to pay the mortgage or whether someone is plotting to steal our identity.

Unisys New Zealand's managing director Brett Hodgson told me: "Internet security is something that is largely in our control [as individuals]. People can take steps to look after that, whereas, for instance, unauthorised access to data is somewhat more out of our direct control."

The common feeling of powerlessness when it comes to exercising control (or lack of it) over who knows what about us and how they use that information was articulated through some of the survey's specific findings.

Fifty-four per cent of those surveyed were either "very concerned" or "extremely concerned" about unauthorised access to and misuse of personal information.

The number was similar - 52 per cent - when it came to concern about unauthorised access to and misuse of credit card details.

Hodgson says despite that high level of concern, on a global scale New Zealand has a comparatively low level of credit-card crime. He suspects the local media reports cyber fraud more intensively than media elsewhere.

Unisys's survey is of interest because playing on fear and paranoia is a key marketing tactic for the broader IT industry.

That is not to say the industry is necessarily growing fat purely off consumers' paranoia. Any computer user with an internet connection who shuns the security message is asking for trouble, and security product vendors are providing a vital service.

On the other hand, the ever-changing "threat landscape" is marketing manna for the security industry because it keeps customers coming back for the updates they need to stay protected.

I did my bit last week to, arguably, fan the media fire of IT security hyperbole by accepting an invitation to attend a conference run by IT security heavyweight Symantec in Sydney.

Symantec is predominantly a purveyor of security products for the business-IT market. The company makes only 28 per cent of its revenue from the consumer market, through its iconic Norton brand. But as the company's Pacific region vice-president David Sykes said last week, having a foot in both markets was invaluable because "you see the issues and trends in consumer first".

Sykes said the proliferation of broadband connections was responsible for a major shift in the nature of computer security attacks.

The hackers' focus was moving away from using viruses and Trojans to orchestrating identity-theft scams through tactics such as phishing (using bogus emails and websites to extract bank account details from unsuspecting users).

At the same time the rise in broadband uptake meant computer users were storing more vital data - such as photos, music collections and financial information - on their machines.

"Now we've got these guys who are after me personally, and my identity," said Sykes.

"So they're not just trying to knock my system over, they're actually picking on me, and I've got a whole bunch of stuff that's really important to me [on my system]."

Businesses face the same issues - protecting themselves and their data from attack - but on top of that have to work out how to sell to consumers online in the environment of e-anxiety painted by the Unisys survey.

When Unisys conducted a similar security survey in Australia, it asked an additional question: would internet users be happy with an additional layer of security, such as fingerprint scanning, to prove their identity when transacting online. A staggering 98 per cent of Australians said they would.

Hodgson says he would expect a similar result if the question was asked in New Zealand.

So while we're dead scared the cyber-crims are out to get us, we'll keep shopping online if someone can come up with an effective and efficient way to thwart them.

Another door opens for the IT industry to cash in on security paranoia.