Ponemon Institute and CIO Institute Reveal Which Organizations America Trusts In First Annual Privacy Trust Survey© Hospitals, Postal Service receive high marks; Americans skeptical of retailers and Dept. of Homeland Security

Survey Shows Which Organizations Americans Trust with Personal and Confidential Information.

(PRWEB) November 8, 2003

Tuscon, Ariz.(PRWEB) November 8, 2003 – Everyday, Americans willingly provide personal, confidential and sometimes sensitive information to a variety of corporate, government and non-profit institutions. Until recent years -- and until recent world events -- most Americans felt comfortable that when they provided personal information it was kept private and protected. However, results of the first annual Privacy Trust Survey, conducted by the Ponemon Institute and sponsored by the CIO Institute at Carnegie Mellon University, show Americans are increasingly unsure if the organizations collecting that information are also taking measures to guard it.

“The purpose of the study was to understand the comfort or level of confidence individuals have when they share their personal information with various organizations,” said Dr. Larry Ponemon, chairman of Ponemon Institute and adjunct professor of ethics and privacy at the CIO Institute of Carnegie Mellon University. “With the findings from the Privacy Trust Survey, business and government leaders can better understand the importance of trust to individuals when collecting and managing personal information.”

Dr. Ponemon involved the CIO Institute in the survey because of the Institute’s commitment to being a source of research and education for senior executives who implement information management, security, and privacy strategies.

“While technology has become the great enabler of data collection and utilization, one of the biggest responsibilities an information executive has is balancing the risks of what to collect and why, and how to use this information after it’s collected,” Bill Ferguson, executive director of the CIO Institute said. “Through the combined relationship with Larry Ponemon and his organization, with the faculty and research from Carnegie Mellon, the CIO Institute is able to educate and assist organizations to better respond to their key privacy challenges.”

The survey

Researchers wanted to gain an understanding of the public’s level of confidence when it comes to sharing personal information so they asked more than 5,500 adults throughout the country if they trusted 26 business and government organizations known to collect personal information. What resulted from the research was a Privacy Trust Score (PTS) for each of the organizations.

“The goal of this research was not to point out where organizations failed or to shame institutions that seem to fall short. Many of these organizations do, in fact, have strong and effective privacy policies,” said Dr. Ponemon. “What the survey revealed is the public’s feelings and perceptions about those privacy practices. And while perception is not always reality, we hope this serves as an alert to those organizations that scored low as they may need to better communicate their privacy commitment.”    

            Among the organizations scoring the highest with Americans were hospitals, doctors, banks and the U.S. Postal Service. Those ranking lowest included retailers, grocery stores, telephone companies and the newly-created Department of Homeland Security.

“It might seem strange that two federal government agencies could score so differently on the Privacy Trust Survey,” Dr. Ponemon added. “However, when you compare the two, it’s easy to see why consumers trust the mailman more than the people fighting terrorism. The Postal Service has more than a century of proof it can be trusted. The Department of Homeland Security can’t say the same yet.”

Key findings:

Health care providers (physicians, hospitals and clinics) enjoy the highest PTS results. In addition, banks and pharmacies achieved high PTS ratings.

Grocery stores and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) experienced the lowest PTS ratings. In addition, the DHS received the highest percentage of unsure responses, suggesting that uncertainty about the Department’s privacy protection practices is driving negative reactions by the public.

81 percent of those surveyed consider privacy to be important or very important to them.

Men appear to have a lower average PTS than women (55% versus 59%).

Democrats have higher PTS than all other political affiliations. Independents (including other smaller parties) have the lowest PTS ratings as well as a higher percentage of unsure responses as compared to Democrats and Republicans.

Respondents who report being victims of a privacy breach have markedly lower PTS rating suggesting that individuals who are victimized by a breach lose their sense of trust among all (or most) organizations that they deal with (and not just the entity that caused the problem).

“Because we believe in the importance of the survey findings to organizations’ privacy initiatives and public policy, we plan to conduct the Privacy Trust Survey on an annual basis,” said Dr. Ponemon. “Conducting the survey over time will enable us to measure how consumers’ perceptions change about the organizations with which they regularly interact.”

With the need for more research and better education regarding privacy and responsible information management exists, The Ponemon Institute and CIO Institute plan to continue studying the privacy practices of both public and private sector organizations. Currently, research is underway for the Privacy Trust Government Survey which will examine consumers’ perceptions regarding more than 20 government agencies; and additional privacy courses are being added to the CIO Institute’s schedule for 2004.

“We are looking forward to continuing this partnership with Dr. Ponemon and the Ponemon Institute,” Ferguson added. “With additional research and educational programs, the CIO Institute will continue to be a valuable resource for CIO’s as well as chief security officers, chief privacy officers and others responsible for managing and protecting an organization’s information assets.”

Copies of the Privacy Trust Survey executive summary can be downloaded at the Ponemon Institute’s web site at http://www.ponemon.org or at the CIO Institute’s web site at http://cioi.web.cmu.edu.

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About the CIO Institute

The Chief Information Officer (CIO) Institute at Carnegie Mellon University is a leading source of research and continuing education for CIO’s, CSO’s, CPO’s and senior executives from the public, private and non-profit sectors. The Institute provides concentrated professional education programs created by Carnegie Mellon’s world class faculty and other top business leaders. The Institute offers certificate programs in a variety of subject areas and allows Federal CIO Certificate participants to earn credits toward select Carnegie Mellon master degrees. Enrollment information can be obtained at http://cioi.web.cmu.edu/ or by calling 412-268-4656.

About Ponemon Institute

The Ponemon Institute is a “think tank” dedicated to advancing responsible information management practices in business and government. To achieve this objective, Ponemon Institute conducts independent research to promote best practice, to educate leaders from the private and public sectors, and to verify the privacy and data protection practices of organization. The Institute is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona. For more information, visit http://www.ponemon.org or contact us at (520) 290-3400, e-mail research@ponemon.org.

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