Netsparker Holiday Survey: 44 Percent of Americans Fear Credit Card Information Will Be Stolen While Shopping Online

Data also reveals that 89 percent of Americans worry about cybersecurity in the new year

London—November 16, 2017—Netsparker Ltd., a leading player in the web applications security industry, has today released the results of its 2017 Holiday Survey. The survey of 2,006 U.S. adults, conducted online by Propeller Insights on behalf Netsparker from October 27- November 1, 2017, found that most Americans plan to do some online shopping over the holidays but fear for the safety of their credit card information; that many would prioritize visiting a site with AI cybersecurity software; and that most worry about cybersecurity threats in the new year, including North Korea, Russia—and President Trump.

Online for the holidays

The vast majority of Americans (80 percent) say they make the most purchases online each year between Black Friday and Christmas. This year, 85 percent will do at least some holiday shopping online; 45 percent will do more than half.

Only a third of Americans (33 percent) say they let websites save their credit card information. This is highest among 25-34 year old Millennials (39 percent) and lowest among 55-64 year old Boomers (25 percent).

It follows that, when it comes to holiday shopping, Americans’ single biggest concern is that a website on which they have saved their credit card information will be hacked (44 percent). This is followed by:

• Having packages stolen from their doorstep — 39 percent
• A hacker using malware to steal their credit card information — 34 percent
• Someone skimming their bank or credit card information at a store — 29 percent

More than two-thirds (67 percent) of Americans would be more likely to prioritize visiting a retail website if they knew it was enabled with AI cybersecurity software.

“Retailers must make protecting their customers’ information a priority around the holidays—and year-round,” said Ferruh Mavituna, founder and CEO of Netsparker. “Consumers need to feel that their information is protected by the companies they do business with; investing in security scanning is an excellent way to show your customers that you care about keeping them safe.”

Fears for the new year

Looking at 2018, 89 percent of Americans feel concerned about cybersecurity threats, with the greatest threats to safety being:

• North Korea — 35 percent
• Russia — 33 percent
• Outdated software — 31 percent
• Election hacking — 27 percent
• President Trump — 24 percent

Despite their concerns over cybersecurity, Americans admit to behaving in many ways that leave them vulnerable to attack, including: using unsecured Wi-Fi networks (39 percent), clicking on social media links that are not familiar (35 percent), using the same password for different sites (34 percent), and using weak passwords (33 percent).

Added Mavituna, “Data hacks are the threat that define our age, and consumers must be proactive about keeping their own sensitive information safe.”

For more information see blog post here.

About Netsparker Ltd.

Netsparker was founded in 2009 and develops a web application security scanner. The scanner’s accurate scanning technology led to early success, and Netsparker is now a recognized leader in the web application security industry.

Netsparker can identify vulnerabilities in any type of modern and custom web applications, regardless of the architecture or platform they are built with. Upon identifying a vulnerability, the Netsparker scanner uniquely generates a proof of exploit to identify a false positive.

Netsparker is available as desktop software and as a cloud service. It is trusted and used by world-renowned organizations from all industry verticals, including Samsung, NASA, Microsoft, ING Bank and Ernst & Young.

Media Contact

Laura Ruark
laura@bospar.com
540.599.7886