The majority of Aussies don’t trust brands with their data: Dentsu report
Feelings towards data held by companies has shifted drastically, with nearly three quarters of Aussies now fearful of data breaches within a company or brand, according to dentsu’s latest Data Consciousness Project.
73% of Australians are fearful of data breaches, while 72% fear companies and brands selling personal data to a third-party.
62% fear a lack of understanding on how a company is using their personal data.
Dentsu surveyed 1,985 Australians aged between 16-65 for the Data Consciousness Project, which is now in its fifth year. The survey aims to provide a deep dive into how consumers feel about their personal data that brands can access, how consumers respond to emerging technologies like AI, and their expectations of value in exchange for data. The Data Consciousness Project has found that the data value exchange between businesses and consumers is shifting in favour of the latter.
The study found almost two in five Aussies received a suspicious email or text requesting personal information, while one in four had experienced their information held by a company being stolen with malicious intent. One in ten Aussies have switched brands because of a data breach, with most consumers, 74%, expecting brands to take quick action to prove their data privacy and security measures.
The past few years have seen some huge data breaches – including THE ICONIC’s earlier this year.
The online retailer experienced an “increase in fraudulent account login attempts” and took quick action, with the team “proactively intercepting unauthorised access attempts and cancelling any fraudulent orders made, in addition to providing customers with full refunds for any successful orders made that have been dispatched”.
This year also saw thousands of customers of major businesses including BINGE, Event Cinemas, Dan Murphy’s, and Guzman Y Gomez get targeted in a coordinated cyber attack.
Unlike other recent hacks on Medibank and Optus, this attack involved a method known as ‘credential stuffing’, where cyber criminals use previously stolen passwords and attempt to use them elsewhere. In this case, hackers were able to access online user accounts for the aforementioned businesses and ring up purchases.
“In the first half of 2023 there were 409 data breaches, with two of these affecting more than 1 million people and one affecting more than 10 million Australians. It is against this backdrop that Australians have become more concerned about how their data is being collected and how it is being used and are now expecting more from companies,” said Christine McKinnon, head of intelligence at dentsu.
In 2024, consumers will begin expecting more in exchange for their data, according to the report, as data will emerge as a currency for brand trust.
“For marketers, the value exchange will be of fundamental importance moving forward as brands must prove they can be trusted to protect their consumers data and also demonstrate the consumer is receiving something in return for their data,” McKinnon continued.
“In 2024, consumers will begin to assert their right to withhold personal data, whilst expecting the same levels of service from a business. Data as a currency will be one of the top opportunities, and challenges, for businesses this year.”
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Lauren McNamara is a journalist at Mumbrella, covering the creative and PR beat. She joined in November 2022 as editorial assistant, after completing a Bachelor of Communications (Journalism) at UTS.
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