Survey: 52% of Americans Believe the US is Prepared for a Cyber-attack

Staff Report

Monday, December 12th, 2016

National cyber security is likely to be high on President-elect Donald Trump's agenda when he takes office next year. The U.S Air Force signed a $19 million cybersecurity deal and security experts believe the US is at risk of a major hacking event, but how do Americans feel about cybersecurity?

According to ReportLinker's survey:

·  55% of Americans say they feel their data is safe from hackers even as two-thirds agree cyber-attacks are more of a threat now than they were five years ago.

When talking about national security:

·  52% of Americans believe the nation is prepared to face a cyber-attack.

·  And 53% believe Russia represents the biggest cybersecurity threat for the country.

·  64% of US respondents agree the government should have enhanced surveillance powers and 52% declared the FBI should have access to encrypted information.

·  Surprisingly, more than a third of Americans say they've never heard of Edward Snowden and one in four respondents say he should be pardoned for revealing the U.S. government's global surveillance program.

The US Federal Bureau of Investigation believes attacks on IoT devices will continue, yet:

·  US respondents mentioned smart devices only 31% of the time as being most vulnerable to cyber-attacks.

·  But mentioned desktops/laptops (46%) and smartphones (42%) as more vulnerable.