Americans' fear of terrorism, cyber-attacks on the rise, study finds

With numerous incidents of terrorism carried out in Western nations, including the U.S. in recent years, there has also been a parallel increase in the fears of Americans as it relates to national security, according to the 2017 Unisys Security Index. The study, which was based on online surveys of at least 1,000 U.S. adults, found that 68 percent of Americans were seriously concerned about national security related to America’s war on terrorism, a 44 percent increase since the last Index was published in 2014 when 47 percent of respondents said they were seriously concerned.   

In addition, Americans’ now seem to be more worried than ever about cybersecurity, as 56 percent of those surveyed indicated that they were seriously concerned with computer viruses and hacking, which marks a 55 increase over the previous Index in which only 36 percent reported that they had such serious concerns. Overall, the Index score for the U.S. was 169, up from 123 in 2014, which places the country squarely in the middle of the 14 nations examined globally. Residents of the Philippines had the highest levels of anxiety over security with a score of 243, while citizens of the Netherlands were at opposite end of spectrum with a score 125.      

According to Bill Searcy, vice president, Justice, Law Enforcement and Border Security at Unisys and a former deputy assistant director at the FBI, the Index shows just how much the world has shrunk with the speed at which information flows and that people can now see themselves being a potential victim in a terror attack whereas in the past it might not have hit home for them the way it does today.   

“If you take a look at the recent attack in Barcelona, before it was even done we knew two things: we knew it had taken place and that there 13 people killed and we knew whether or not Americans were present and they were,” he explains. “All of us can easily see ourselves there at the time something like this happens, but even worse, we can see it happening in the homeland. It used to be as long as I went to work, came home and didn’t wander around the ‘bad parts of town,’ I could count on being safe. That is no longer true. I think Americans are waking up to the fact that, ‘you know, these things can happen anywhere.’”

With regards to cybersecurity, Searcy believes that some of the more widely publicized data breaches and malware attacks have certainly played a role in raising Americans’ concerns about hackers combined with the fact that nearly every vital transaction – be it disclosing private financial or personal information – in today’s society either are or can be carried out online.

“If everything I do is online and now I’m being told that online is dangerous and people can get into the system and steal my information, then I’m going to become increasingly worried about that because I know that the impact of that activity is going to be significant,” he says. “When you add that full mix: my life is tied more into cyberspace now, I don’t have a good understanding of how these things work together anyway, and then I’m hearing about all of these people that can get into the system, then, of course, I’m going to be a lot more concerned moving forward.”   

Although these increased concerns may seem alarming on the surface, Searcy says the fact that people are taking notice is a step in the right direction. 

“I think our concerns here are overdue. I’ve been an evangelist in the cyberspace world for some time now. I worked my first cyber investigation back in 1998, so I’ve been at this for a long time. The nature of threats that we’re facing today certainly overshadow the threats we faced back then but they are still threats,” Searcy adds.

Consumer Attitudes towards IoT Technology

In conjunction with the Security Index, Unisys also conducted a parallel study to gauge the attitudes of Americans towards the Internet of Things and its associated “smart” devices and found a wide range of opinions. In general, the study found that Americans largely support sharing personal data with law enforcement and healthcare providers via smart devices with a few caveats.

Respondents were overwhelmingly in favor of being able to send police their location using a smartphone app in the event of an emergency or having medical devices, such as pacemakers or blood sugar sensors, immediately transmit significant changes to the appropriate healthcare professionals. However, they did not approve of health insurance providers being able to track a person’s fitness activity via a wearable monitor to determine premiums or rewards for healthy lifestyle practices nor did they like the idea of police being able to access a person’s wearable device at their own discretion to determine their location at all times.

Searcy says that he was actually “gratified” by these findings rather than surprised as he believes that Americans are essentially practical people who understand that using IoT technology can make their communities safer places to live. However, he says they are not as forgiving when they feel like they or losing control or not having a say in what kinds of technologies are being leveraged by law enforcement and other government agencies to surveil their everyday lives.

“It’s ok for you to use these IoT devices to collect information, but we still want to know where that information is going and we want to have final approval, more or less, that the information or the data you’re collecting is going to stop where you’re saying it’s going to stop,” Searcy says of Americans’ attitudes towards these technologies.

Searcy believes the key for government agencies that want to deploy solutions that could be perceived as invasive with regards to the privacy is to be transparent about what exactly they want to accomplish with them and to have clear guidelines as to the use and storage of information that they generate. For example, several years ago when authorities in Washington, D.C., installed crime prevention cameras, Searcy says there was outrage on the part of the public because they failed to properly educate residents.

“As people get more used to the idea and as they are informed that, ‘hey, this isn’t something we’re going to use to try and spy on everybody and this is just for crime prevention,’ then I think they are much more in favor of it,” he adds.  

For more information or to download a full copy of the 2017 Unisys Security Index, click here.

About the Author: 

Joel Griffin is the Editor-in-Chief of SecurityInfoWatch.com and a veteran security journalist. You can reach him at [email protected].