Poll: Most Americans lax about protecting personal data

Have you ever used your dog’s name as a password, hopped online at a coffee shop or tossed your credit card bill in the recycle bin? A new poll shows you’re not the only one taking these kinds of data security risks.

The new Bankrate.com survey found that more than 9 out of 10 (91 percent) of Americans are making data security missteps. The most common risky behaviors include reusing passwords (80 percent), saving passwords on a computer or phone (45 percent) and saving payment information on a device (39 percent) to make shopping faster and easier. (See survey methodology.)

When you factor in all the different ways people can expose their data, the number of risk-takers is probably even higher—close to 100 percent, says Joseph Steinberg, cybersecurity expert and author of “Cybersecurity for Dummies.”

“There are just so many ways you can put your data at risk,” he says.

 

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