According to John Thompson, CEO of Symantec, if a trustworthy digital environment cannot be created, not only the growth of e-business but the entire economy will be hindered.
“Although large-scale attacks on the Internet are not frequent, customers are gradually losing trust in computer networks. This is a real concern“, Thompson warned.
He believes the line between traditional business and online business has been erased, as every company needs the digital world to operate at least one aspect, such as delivery or communication with partners.
However, about 41% of customers are currently engaging in fewer online transactions due to fears of exposing their financial information. According to a statistic from Symantec, approximately 150 million phishing emails are sent out daily. Victims of phishing lost around $680 million last year and spent 300 million hours recovering from the damage.
Thompson commended Microsoft for its support of the Windows operating system and expressed satisfaction that consumers are becoming more aware and starting to install security software. “If business executives want the digital economy to thrive, they need to ensure the information created is secure and take responsibility when it is stolen,” Thompson emphasized.
He believes search engines can help boost customer trust by providing a user-rated security ranking system alongside each search result. He also urged governments to pass common transaction laws to protect Internet users.
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