Microsoft Measures Consumer Online Safety Awareness
Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), a guest speaker at the Microsoft Digital Citizen event, applauded Microsoft’s efforts to quantify consumer perceptions of Internet safety, security, and privacy; while cautioning prescriptive interventions. “Congress needs to adopt the philosophy of first do no harm, but only once you have a defined harm,” said Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn (R-TN). “We don’t know what consumers’ true expectations are going to be in a year from now, except to say that it is evolving.”
Microsoft’s Trustworthy Computing Group, which is focused on educating consumers about safe Web use, released its first annual Microsoft Computing Safety Index, at the event, revealing that consumers are taking steps to protect themselves, but there is room for growth. Key findings:
- Many consumers are using ‘set and forget’ protections including firewalls, anti-virus and downloadable updates.
- Ongoing protections such as using services to edit their information online were less common.
- If consumers receive a benefit from using online resources, they are more willing to assume risks.
- Consumers are taking primary responsibility for managing risks for themselves.
“I look at the index [survey results] as a report card” and “I hope the index can serve as a baseline for measurement,” said Jacqueline Beauchere, Director of Trustworthy Computing at Microsoft. Microsoft has created an abbreviated version of its index survey, which can be taken at www.microsoft.com/security/
