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Kindsight Survey Reveals Identity Theft Continues to be a Major Concern for Consumers

Survey Respondents Cited the Need for More Protection against Cyber Criminals

Sunnyvale, California – August 24, 2010 – A recent survey commissioned by Kindsight, developer of identity theft protection services, confirms that almost two-thirds (65 percent) of American consumers are increasingly concerned about identity theft as it relates to having their bank account, credit card or other personal information stolen online. Respondents included 1,200 web users, aged 18 to 55 years old, who all have at least one PC in their homes, use a broadband Internet connection and have spent at least a few hours a month browsing the Internet at home.

“The results of our survey shed light on the public’s concerns toward ID theft and online protection,” said Mike Gassewitz, Kindsight CEO. “In recent years, online hackers have advanced to a new class of sophisticated cyber criminals. Methodical in planning their attacks to make them more lucrative, these criminals are skilled at identifying potential security holes in a consumer’s home network. Armed with consumers’ personal information, these cyber criminals can deplete bank accounts and harm credit ratings, which costs consumers significant time and effort to reverse the damage.”

Protecting against online identity theft

Also according to the survey, 81 percent of respondents have been infected at some point in their computing life, with 29 percent having been infected by a virus in the last three months. Even with this level of infection, only 59 percent of the participants have updated their anti-virus software and only 53 percent have enabled a firewall on their home router and/or computers. Combine these statistics with their online identity theft concerns and it’s not surprising that the majority of Americans (68 percent) believe they need an additional layer of protection against identity theft.

Additional findings of users’ concerns about being online include:

  • 34 percent identified a phishing attack intended to steal personal information as one of their top two concerns
  • 29 percent identified Trojan viruses that hijack their computers for the distribution of spam, infections, or child pornography to other computers and users as one of their top two concerns
  • 25 percent were concerned with having their computer’s performance compromised by viruses
  • 14 percent were concerned about viruses corrupting their personal photos, videos and other memories

About Kindsight:

Kindsight partners with Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide consumers with an additional layer of protection against identity theft and other threats. The Kindsight Identity Theft Protection Service detects threats in your Internet traffic, sends you alerts and shows you step-by-step how to remove threats that put your personal information at risk. The Kindsight service is always-on, always-up-to-date and cannot be disabled by criminals since it is embedded in the ISP’s network. The Kindsight service is offered for a monthly fee or, like many Internet applications, at no-cost through relevant advertising. Visit www.kindsight.net for more information.

Press Contact:

Alisa Davis
SHIFT Communications for Kindsight
adavis@shiftcomm.com
415.591.8417

Brendan Ziolo
VP, Marketing for Kindsight
brendan@kindsight.net
 214.606.1080

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