Bank survey shows customers voting with their feet against banks that don't take their privacy and security responsibilities seriously

A report claiming to show that one in ten bank customers have moved banks owing to privacy and security concerns is a clear example of how banks need to start taking responsibility for their online practices, says Imperva.

And, notes the Web application security specialist, the study also shows that consumers are far from the naive consumers that some marketing experts often think they are.

"The bi-annual index from Unisys shows that 85 percent of the population are worried about bank card fraud and identity theft. In addition, 75 per cent said that won't bank or shop with people they cannot trust to safeguard their personal data," said Amichai Shulman, Imperva's chief technology officer.

"What some banks don’t seem to realise is that, despite the security barriers being raised in recent times, the criminal hacking industry is not going to close down. On the contrary, it is on the rise and as long as the banks and retailers do not strengthen the technology available to their customers, we are bound to see more security incidents," he added.

According to Imperva's CTO, the results of the survey show that customers now understand that it is high time that these organisations safeguard the information they have been entrusted with.

And now, he explained, it is up to the banks to take the necessary steps to stop the outflow of customers, especially now there are a number of new players entering the retail banking market.

“Banks need to wake up and smell the security coffee. They need to listen to their customers and this survey, and ensure they place the correct controls to keep the customer data as secure as possible.”

For more on the bank survey: http://bit.ly/9ekuOO

For more on Imperva: www.imperva.com