HK residents most concerned about personal and financial security issues

Yet almost half of Hong Kong people leave themselves vulnerable to cybercrime by not locking their mobile phones with a password or PIN.

Residents of Hong Kong reported the highest level of concern globally for financial and personal security issues among the 11 countries surveyed as part of the latest Unisys Security Index™, which tracks the attitudes of consumers on a wide range of security-related issues. Hong Kong ranked second behind Brazil in overall level of security concerns in the Unisys survey. There were 898 Hong Kong respondents.

Overall levels of concern by country
“The overall Hong Kong Unisys Security Index stands at 172 out of 300. While the overall Hong Kong Unisys Security Index result is down 6 points since 2008 when the index was last measured in this market, the level of concern is high compared to other markets surveyed,” said Allen Koehn, Vice President, Public Sector, Unisys Asia Pacific.

The survey looks at a range of national, financial, personal and Internet security issues. The national security issue that most concerned Hong Kong citizens was health epidemics (70%) while only 37% were concerned about Hong Kong’s nation security in relation to war or terrorism.

In terms of financial security, eight in ten (80%) showed serious concern over bank card fraud and 59% were concerned about their ability to meet essential financial obligations.

When looking at personal security issues, 81% of Hong Kong residents were seriously concerned about unauthorised access to personal information and 58% were concerned about their personal safety over the next six months.

Hong Kongers were less concerned about Internet security matters, with only 46% concerned about the security of shopping or banking online and 39% concerned about computer security in terms of viruses and unsolicited emails.

Hong Kongers left vulnerable to cybercrime by not securing their mobile phones
The top two security concerns for Hong Kong residents identified in the Unisys Security Index relate to identity theft:

• 81% are extremely or very concerned about unauthorised access to, or misuse of, personal information
• 80% are extremely or very concerned about other people obtaining/using their credit card details

“Paradoxically, given the high level of concern about identity theft, our research found that almost half of the Hong Kong population (48%) is vulnerable to cyber crime and identity theft by not locking mobile devices with a password or PIN. Many people keep personal information on their mobile phones – such as phone numbers, addresses, birthdays and even bank account numbers – all of which can be used to re-create someone’s identity,” Mr Koehn said.

“This can also represent a risk to the organisations that the phone user works for – particularly if it is a smart phone. Any gadget that houses sensitive enterprise information or has access to the internet presents a risk if the user doesn’t secure the device properly.

Unisys Security Index findings on willingness to accept the use of biometrics
The Unisys survey also asked Hong Kong residents about their willingness to use biometrics to verify their identity in different scenarios. About half of Hong Kong residents surveyed indicated willingness to use biometric technologies to help secure access to bank records and health records.

Percentage of Hong Kong residents who said they would be prepared to use a biometric to prove their identities in the following scenarios:

• To access bank accounts – 50%
• To access health records – 47%
• To access buildings – 39%
• To access welfare payments and information – 37%
• To access tax records or submit tax returns – 37%
• To access and pay every day bills – 31%
• To sign up to join a club – 21%
• To enrol in an education class – 20%
• To access public transport – 19%

“These findings suggest that support for biometrics varies depending on how critical people feel it is to prove their identity to access a particular service or to protect the personal information associated with that service. For example, they are more supportive of using biometrics to access a bank account or health records than to enrol in an education class or access public transport,” Mr Koehn explained.

“The other key factor determining acceptance of biometrics revealed by the research is the organisation that would have access to the information. There is a clear divide between those organisations that people are willing to trust with their biometrics, such as the Department of Health or Hospitality Authority, and those they are not, such as banks,” he said.

Percentage of Hong Kong residents who said they would allow the following organisations to access their personal biometric information from a centralised body for identity verification:

• The Department of Health or Hospital Authority – 73%
• The Inland Revenue Department – 41%
• Other government departments you have dealings with – 40%
• Your bank 34%
• Other commercial organisations you have dealings with – 11%
• None/don’t know – 21%

“The Hong Kong results are interesting when compared to the other two Asia Pacific countries surveyed on this topic, Australia and New Zealand. In those two markets, the local tax departments and banks recorded much higher levels of support to use biometrics than in Hong Kong,” said Mr Koehn.

“These results clearly reinforce the need for greater education and information about the benefits of biometrics in addressing key community concerns about identity theft and related cyber and financial fraud crime.

“That’s why Unisys advocates community awareness and education programs around security, identity and biometrics initiatives,” said Mr Koehn.