7 in 10 young New Zealanders concerned about online privacy

Seven in 10 young New Zealanders are concerned about unauthorised access to personal information – yet are the most likely to use free public Wi-Fi – Unisys Security Index finds

• New Zealand records highest level of security concern since 2006
• Unisys offers tips for safer use of free public Wi-Fi for work and play

Seventy percent of New Zealanders aged 18-34 years surveyed for the latest Unisys Security Index™ said they are extremely or very concerned about unauthorised access to their personal information, a result that has contributed to the highest level of overall concern reported in New Zealand since the study was launched in 2006.

Even so, 18-34 year old New Zealanders surveyed are more likely to use free public WiFi than any other age group, with almost half (45 percent) of respondents saying they have used free public WiFi in the last year.

In the survey, 15 percent of New Zealanders 18-34 year olds said they had performed work related activities on free public WiFi networks in the last year, twice as many as those aged 35 and over (7 percent).

The Unisys Security Index is a national survey of 543 adults, conducted in February 2012 by ConsumerLink, which provides insights into the New Zealand public’s sense of security in the areas of national, financial, personal and internet security.

The overall Unisys Security Index for New Zealand increased 3 points to 144 out of a possible 300 in the last year to reach its highest level since 2006. In particular, the internet and personal security indices are also the highest they have been in the history of the study, at 147 and 143 respectively.

Unauthorised access to, or misuse of, personal information was the top security concern for young Kiwis with 70 percent of New Zealanders aged 18-34 years old saying they were extremely or very concerned about this. This result is substantially higher than in Australia where just 44 percent of young Australians aged 18-34 years were seriously concerned.

The study also found Young Kiwis are the age group most concerned about their ability to meet financial obligations, with 51 percent of 18-34 year olds extremely or very concerned about this issue compared to 38 percent of 35-49 year olds and 27 percent of people aged 50 and over.

Young Kiwis lead the use of Public WiFi:

“It’s clear young people have embraced mobility, driven by the expanding range of WiFi-enabled mobile devices such as smartphones, laptops and tablets and the rapid proliferation of free WiFi access in high traffic public places such as cafes, airports, fast food outlets and shopping centres,” said Mr Brett Hodgson, Managing Director, Unisys New Zealand.

“The good news is that our young Kiwis seem to be aware of data privacy issues, with the majority concerned about unauthorised access to their information. However it is vital that they take suitable steps to protect the data they are accessing via the public WiFi network,” he said.

Mr Hodgson offered five tips to better protect sensitive data when using public WiFi:
1. Lock access to your mobile device with a hard to guess password or PIN so no one else can use it
2. Change your passwords regularly
3. Be aware of who can see and read data on your screen
4. When accessing your work network use a secured Virtual Private Network
5. If you or your employees need to access sensitive corporate data from a public or shared-use device, use a Secure Virtual Terminal solution for added protection.

Use of Free Public WiFi for work purposes
“Gen Y is helping to drive changes in the way we work by becoming more mobile. Employers need to update their security strategy to extend beyond the office and to cover employer-provided and employee-owned mobile devices. This requires a holistic approach to security that incorporates technologies, education and policies at every access point to the corporate network to prevent data breaches – both accidental and intentional,” said Mr. Hodgson.

“The need to better secure remote and mobile access has led to the development of new security measures. For example, ‘attribute-based access control’ uses a combination of information about the person seeking access – such as their location, what device they are using, whether the request is within their normal pattern of working hours, and how they have verified their identity – in order to determine what data is allowed to be accessed at that time. Or it may ask for additional proof of identity such as a fingerprint, before access is granted. This takes a very personalised approach to data access for mobile workers,” Mr Hodgson said.

About the Unisys Security Index
The Unisys Security Index is a global study that provides insights into the attitudes of consumers on a wide range of security related issues. Conducted in New Zealand by market research firm Consumer Link, the Unisys Security Index provides a regular, statistically robust measure gauging levels of concern about various aspects of security.
The survey on which the latest New Zealand Unisys Security Index is based, was conducted nationally 14-20 February 2012 using a nationally representative sample of 543 respondents aged 18 years and over. All results have been post-weighted to Statistics New Zealand census data. The study measures consumer perceptions on a scale of zero to 300, with 300 representing the highest level of perceived concern. For more information on the Unisys Security Index including additional resource material visit: www.unisyssecurityindex.co.nz.

About Unisys
Unisys is a worldwide information technology company. We provide a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology that solves critical problems for clients. We specialise in helping clients secure their operations, increase the efficiency and utilisation of their data centres, enhance support to their end users and constituents, and modernise their enterprise applications. To provide these services and solutions, we bring together offerings and capabilities in outsourcing services, systems integration and consulting services, infrastructure services, maintenance services, and high-end server technology. With approximately 22,500 employees, Unisys serves commercial organisations and government agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.unisys.com.

About Unisys Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific, Unisys delivers services and solutions through subsidiaries in New Zealand, Australia, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan and through distributors or resellers in other countries in the region.
For more information visit www.unisys.co,nz . Follow us on www.twitter.com/UnisysAPAC.

ENDS

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