Poll: Atlantic Canadians not worried about security breaches

Atlantic Canadians are most confident their personal information collected by financial institutions is safe from security breaches, followed by the government. But significantly fewer residents are confident that this information collected by retailers or social media is safe from such breaches, according to the most recent survey conducted by Corporate Research Associates Inc.

There has been considerable discussion regarding the safety of personal information collected by various organizations. Overall, two-thirds (67 per cent) of Atlantic Canadians are either completely or mostly confident their personal information collected by financial institutions is safe from security breaches, while just over half (54 per cent) express the same confidence in the security of personal information collected by the government.

Confidence in the security of personal information collected by retailers or social media platforms is more limited, as just under four in ten (36 per cent) residents are confident in retailers, and only two in ten (21 per cent) express confidence in social media platforms.

CRA Chairman and CEO Don Mills said the results indicate wariness among Atlantic Canadians regarding their level of confidence in how safe their personal information is from security breaches.

“Perhaps surprisingly, financial institutions are considered to be less of a security risk in that regard than government.”

There was little variation in results by province.

These results are part of the CRA Atlantic Quarterly – an independent, quarterly telephone survey of Atlantic Canadians – and are based on a telephone sample of 1,500 adult Atlantic Canadians.