The Dutch are very self-confident about the security of personal data

The Dutch have a great deal of confidence in the security of their personal data. Yet almost half of them would feel safer if they knew what they could do to secure themselves and their loved ones online. That’s what Palo Alto Networks’ research shows.

According to the YouGov survey commissioned by Palo Alto Networks among over 10,000 respondents in the EMEA region, the majority of Dutch people feel much more confident than the average about the security of IoT devices. 38 percent of respondents in the EMEA think that IoT’s technology is safe, compared to 51 percent in the Netherlands.

Furthermore, the Dutch have a great deal of confidence in the security of their personal data, for which they should be responsible themselves according to 59 percent. According to 56%, this is the responsibility of the ISP; according to 44%, the government should play an important role in this.

70 percent say they’ll do anything to prevent the loss of personal data. However, 47 percent think they feel even safer if they knew more about what they can do to protect themselves online.

Security of professional data

However, there seems to be a gap between what people believe and what the facts show, says Chief Security Officer North & East-Europe Fred Streefland at Palo Alto Networks. For example, 28 percent of Dutch people appear to use the unsecured WiFi network of, for example, the campsite or the hotel for their work phone.

The problem is that these networks are accessible to everyone, which makes them attractive to hackers as well. Hackers can intercept and misuse information shared over the networks.

The security set up by IT departments of organisations to protect data as much as possible will then no longer work. Incidentally, women are a little more careful than men. 23 percent of Dutch women use public Wi-Fi networks, compared to 34 percent of men.