Breach Fatigue Sets In With Consumers

A new study out today confirms experts' belief that in the wake of mega breaches at retailers like Target and Home Depot, consumers are reaching a point of "breach fatigue." Conducted by Ponemon Institute on behalf of RSA, the survey report released today shows that consumers really do little to alter their shopping behavior following breaches at their favorite stores. However, their antennae are up and they do have preferences about how online retailers handle security measures such as authentication.

Among the 1,000 consumer respondents who participated in the study, half have been the victim of a breach. But a mere 14 percent reported that they care enough about privacy that a data breach at an institution they do business with would affect their shopping or banking behavior. While the majority of those polled say they do care about their privacy to some degree -- just not enough to change their online behavior -- some 23 percent said that privacy has absolutely no influence over their consumer perceptions or behaviors. Among all respondents, the increased news of retail breaches has affected the way some consumers spend their money. Approximately 49 percent reported that they are still shopping online, but they're now putting away their debit cards more often in favor of their credit cards.

"That ultimately comes down to the fact that as a consumer, do I want to be out of that money out of my checking account or would I rather deal with a statement later and fight it via my bank on my credit card?" says Ruben Rodriguez, principal product marketing manager in the fraud, risk, and intelligence group at RSA. "That has caused some hesitation and a shift in what they do, but they're still shopping and using their cards. It's just a difference between using one versus the other."

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