Some 63% of people in the US, rising to 87% in the UK, believe that the rise identity fraud coupled with the inadequate protection of personal information will become a significant security threat in the future. They also feel that financial institutions and government are not doing enough to combat it. As a result, 69% of US consumers and 92% in the UK are in favour of banks and government organisations adopting biometric technologies over other protection measures such as smart cards, tokens or PINs.
In the US, nearly two thirds of respondents to the survey believed that biometrics will have the single greatest impact on strengthening airport security, while just over half felt that technology plays a significant role in homeland security and, after physical security, point to biometrics as the best way to provide security.
“We’ve seen a consistent outcry among consumers for more effective technologies, like biometrics, that will better equip businesses and government organisations to protect and verify personal information in a way that’s reliable and convenient,” said Mark Cohn, vice president for integrated security programs at Unisys. “Consumers are concerned that current security processes at our nation’s airports and borders are inadequate, which likely will result in even more widespread adoption of biometrics within these areas.”
The research was conducted on behalf of Unisys by the Ponemon Institute, which polled 1,744 people in the US, and 500 UK consumers in conjunction with Ipsos/MORI.