The annual Index, based on data gathered from business and consumer audiences in the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany and France, will serve over time as a regular barometer of market confidence in e-commerce.
The first iteration of the Index reveals that the willingness to transact online is outpacing trust in the medium: both businesses and consumers are taking risks in order to reap the benefits of online transactions.
"It is not surprising that business users feel more secure online than consumers, with an array of firewalls and other defensive measures in place around them, but it is astonishing to see the extent to which both groups are willing to assume some level of risk in their transactions," said Art Coviello, president and CEO of RSA Security. "In the pursuit of convenience and cost-savings, businesses and their customers are knowingly making themselves more vulnerable to identity theft. The message here is that security is failing to keep pace with what end-users wish to do online."
The Index confirms that the volume of online transactions is growing in all the countries surveyed -- just 1 percent of businesses said that they were doing fewer online transactions today than 12 months ago --- and that they are an increasingly critical source of revenue and sales for the business community. The United States leads the way here: 62 percent of U.S. businesses reported that their online dealings accounted for higher dollar amounts than at the same point 12 months ago, compared with 49 percent in both the UK and in France. In Germany, however, the pace of growth in the value of transactions is more cautious: 34 percent reported an increase in the overall value, but 52 percent estimated that there had been no change in this area over the past year.
A reason for this was identified when businesses were polled on the perceived security of their online transactions. On average, 86 percent of American, British and French companies consider that their online dealings are 'quite,' 'very' or 'extremely' secure, but the figure in Germany -- 64 percent -- was markedly lower.
However, the survey uncovered a distinct confidence gap in the United States: American businesses and consumers are far more concerned than Europeans about network vulnerability and third parties fraudulently accessing information. 67 percent of U.S. businesses reported degrees of concern about the vulnerability of their networks, much higher than the European average of 37 percent. And almost half of U.S. consumers stated that that they have little or no confidence that several groups are taking the necessary steps to secure personal data.
