Half of UAE online shoppers will not go back to portals hit by data breaches

Dubai: Online retailers and portals be warned – UAE shoppers will be in no mood to forgive them if data breaches happen. Nearly half of these consumers would ‘sever’ further purchases or exposure on that platform.

That’s according to a survey by the cyber security software firm Kaspersky. And nearly two-thirds (59 per cent) said they are now worried that their online activities are being constantly tracked by the websites or online services they visit or frequent.

Online users want companies to be transparent in their data processing, and the same percentage 48 per cent believe that companies should be equally open about how their technology works. Similarly, 47 per cent called on governments to be transparent about their data collection and management processes.

“It is clear from the responses that people have developed a sense of control and they are now demanding openness about how and where their data is being managed," said Marina Titova, Head of Consumer Product Marketing at Kaspersky. "This is something we at Kaspersky absolutely support and champion, having brought to light the significance of transparency in the InfoSec space.

"Businesses should be aware of how detrimental it would be to brand reputation to ignore these calls.”