(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) A newly released study has revealed that while a significant portion of the UAE's consumers have little confidence in the ability of organisations to keep their data safe, many are willing to share personal information in return for free services.
The study, commissioned by F5 Networks, a Seattle-based technology company, surveyed over 1,000 consumers across the UAE regarding their attitudes towards data security, as well as over 6,000 consumers in Saudi Arabia, the UK, Germany, France, the Benelux countries, and Poland. "The point of the survey was to find out what everybody thought about the balance between their privacy and their security, and who had responsibility for what between the two," said F5 Chief Information Security Office Mike Convertino. "We found that people were horribly conflicted." More than half (58 per cent) of UAE consumers expressed concerns that their data would eventually fall into the wrong hands, as well as 54 per cent who said they feared their data being compromised. Social media brands and marketing companies were found to be the least trusted, with 66 per cent and 62 per cent respectively noting that they do not trust such organisations with their personal data. Only 27 per cent expressed confidence that these companies would be able to protect data from hackers. However, the study found that for many UAE consumers, privacy concerns can be overlooked in exchange for the use of a company's services for free. Approximately 51 per cent of consumers said they'd be willing to share their date of birth, 45 per cent their marital status, 35 per cent their personal interests, and 37 per cent their shopping habits or even their mobile numbers. "(Globally) 75 per cent of consumers have zero confidence in marketing and social networking companies, and yet over 50 per cent of them share important details about their personal lives with these entities," Convertino noted. "The entities they trust the least, they actually share the most information with. It's an odd juxtaposition." "They're willing to do it, in order to communicate and interact with others," he added. "People very much want to be connected to others and are willing to do a great deal in order to get there." Banking institutions, on the other hand, were considered the most trustworthy institutions. In the UAE's case, 84 per cent of respondents said they regarded banks as trustworthy. "The most trusted entities, interestingly, were banks," Convertino said. "They didn't feel as bad about a bank knowing about all their charges, because they want a service in return for that knowledge, and that is anti-fraud." Additionally, UAE customers were found to be among the most willing globally to provide personal data, with only 11 per cent of consumers saying that they would not give any data at all, compared to almost a third of consumers in Britain. Across all the countries surveyed, an overwhelming number of respondents - 88 per cent - said they felt strongly that organisations should improve authentication technology to ensure consumer data is secure. Bernd Debusmann Jr. Originally from Mexico City, I've been in Dubai since January 2015. Before arriving in in the UAE I worked as a general news reporter in TV and print in Mexico City, NYC and Washington DC. I'm interested in defence issues, politics, technology, aviation and history. In my spare time i enjoy traveling and football - I'm a keen fan of Chelsea FC. I developed an interest in the Middle East traveling through Jordan and the West Bank. I have a BA in Political Science from Dickinson College in the USA and an MA in International Journalism from City University London.