Poll: Most in U.S. have cybersecurity qualms

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Four out of five Americans doubt the U.S. government's ability to maintain computer security and privacy, a poll released Monday showed.

Forty-six percent of respondents said they were "very concerned" and 35 percent said they were "somewhat concerned" that government-held data about them may be misused some day, according to the survey conducted for the Information Technology Association of America (ITAA), a trade group.

In another finding that could prove worrisome for electronic commerce, 72 percent said they would not feel safe signing a contract over the Internet using a "secure digital signature."

On October 1, a law took effect giving deals signed electronically the same legal standing in the United States as ones inked on paper.

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The nationwide telephone poll was carried out among 1,000 adults September 30 to October 3 by Fabrizio, McLaughlin Associates. The margin of error was plus or minus 3.1 percentage points.

Last month, citing findings by congressional investigators, Representative Stephen Horn, a California Republican, released a report card on cybersecurity at 24 U.S. government agencies and gave the administration "an appalling average grade of D-minus."

Researchers said consumer confidence in cybersecurity and data privacy is critical for electronic commerce to reach its full potential. Perceived shortcomings could lop as much as $1 trillion from global e-commerce revenues in the next three years, or about one-third of the projected total, Alta Vista, the Internet search company, said last week.

Nearly half of respondents to the survey, 49 percent, said they would like the government to name a top computer expert as "chief information officer of the United States" to deal with cybersecurity problems.

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Information Technology Association of America
Fabrizio, McLaughlin Associates

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