The announcement of the results of the survey coincides with the launch of an ITU Cybersecurity Gateway portal. These efforts also highlight work being carried out as follow-ups to the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) Action line C5 dealing with "Building confidence and security in the use of ICT", for which ITU is the facilitator/moderator.

The results of the survey were released today on the occasion of World Telecommunication Day. Based on data from about 400 respondents, the survey found that opinion was evenly divided concerning safety of communication networks, including the Internet, with 51 per cent finding them safe, and 48 per cent considering them unsafe. Only 1 percent found modern communication networks very safe while 55 per cent considered them highly unsafe. Yet, as many as 60 per cent reported feeling comfortable surfing the Internet and conducting on-line transactions, with 40 per cent experiencing some degree of discomfort.

Nearly 80 per cent of respondents considered privacy to be an important consideration in the context of surfing on the Internet. Opinion was more evenly divided on whether privacy was respected: 56 per cent of respondents said that it was respected to some degree, while 44 per cent felt it was poorly respected.

These concerns over privacy were reflected in users’ fears while surfing, with theft of personal information the most commonly cited concern by over one quarter of respondents. Another quarter feared viruses and worms. Nearly one fifth were worried about spyware, while scams and fraud ranked slightly lower (13 per cent). Only 8 per cent found spam something to be afraid of, rather than just a nuisance (Figure 1, left chart), perhaps reflecting a grudging acceptance of spam or improvements in filtering.

Such fears appeared to have a big impact on on-line behavior: nearly two-thirds, or 64 per cent, of all respondents admitted to refraining from certain activities on-line owing to concerns over the misuse of personal data or rights being compromised; only one-third carried on regardless.

When it came to the follow-up and reporting of illegal content, inappropriate Websites and/or misuse of the Internet, only 40 per cent were aware of reporting procedures in their home country, while 60 per cent were unsure on how to report on-line abuse. Regarding on-line resources to consolidate information on cybersecurity and spam, and advice as to how to stay safe on-line, an overwhelming 86 per cent were in favor and thought such a resource would be useful, with only 14 per cent being indifferent.

Half of all respondents thought that issues of network stability and security are "very important" for the future of the Internet, with an additional third finding them "important". Only 13 per cent thought that these aspects were not necessarily important for the future of the Internet. In order to preserve Internet security, over two-thirds of respondents, or 71 per cent, thought that new national laws relating to online behavior should be enacted for personal safety, while nearly 30 per cent found new laws unnecessary. An overwhelming 91 per cent thought that the development of security standards and best practices for worldwide deployment might help in reducing on-line threats.

Over three-quarters of respondents felt that greater information-sharing between stakeholders (government, the private sector and the public) would be efficient in achieving improved cybersecurity.

Source:  International Telecommunication Union

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