Consumers don't trust companies with their data, but they're willing to share personal info

Consumers in the EMEA region (Europe, Middle East, Africa) are fairly skeptical about companies keeping their data safe, but are willing to share personal information to get something in return anyway.

Those are the results of a new and extensive research by F5 Networks, which had asked more than 7,000 consumers in UK, Germany, France, Bene, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Poland about their online shopping habits, and data attitudes.

Almost three quarters (70 percent) of consumers fear data they share with private companies would end up in the wrong hands. Just above two thirds (64 percent) are afraid the data will become compromised.

Consumers have shown least trust (75 percent) to social media brands and marketing companies, while 21 percent said they’re confident these companies could keep their data safe.

"There are clear differences in the type of companies that consumers trust with their data", Mike Convertino, CISO and VP, Information Security at F5 Networks commented. "Companies with a traditional focus on security, such as banks, are by far considered the most trustworthy but interestingly, we share the most information with social media channels despite the fact that we trust these companies the least to keep our data safe. Regardless of the industry, any consumer facing organization needs to ensure that its protection is in line with its customers increasing demands".

Still, more than half were willing to give this data away, if they get something in return. More than half (53 percent) would share their birthday, 51 percent would share their marital status and 50 percent would share personal interests.

There were different results in different countries, with the UK being the country where consumers would most often give nothing (33 percent).

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