Britons happy to take online risks

Guarantees and information instil confidence in consumers

Andrea-Marie Vassou, Computeract!ve 24 Apr 2007

UK internet users are willing to take risks online as long as they feel informed about the consequences, according to a new report.

The Trustguide report, created from a research project by BT, the DTI and the University of Plymouth, found that surfers would use online services that they deemed as risky, such as online banking and shopping, so long as they knew that “restitution would be made if something [went] wrong".

This was something the banking industry was praised for as it guaranteed to refund victims of cyber fraud.

The report also praised the banking industry for educating customers on security risks and procedures and urged others to follow.

The report's co-author, Andy Phippen, lecturer in socio-technical studies at the University of Plymouth, said this education would “enhance overall cyber trust and lead to the acceptance of an ICT-enabled future”.

“While legislative measures have their role to play in helping to protect consumers, it’s not enough,” said Phippen.

“Education and assurance are the foundation stones upon which trust is built and understanding the ‘risk-trust-privacy-responsibility-restitution’ equation is fundamental to increasing confident use of online services,” he added.

However, companies that kept data breaches from their customers or did not take the time to explain what they were doing with it, did not fair well with people as unsubstantiated claims of security and protection did not help to instill their trust.

Hazel Lacohée, principal researcher at BT Group’s chief technology office and main author of the report, said: “Citizens are aware of the large-scale data collection that occurs through online services and are mistrustful of it. It’s their data and they want to control it, so transparency on this is essential to increase confidence."

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