Unisys Security Index rises on increased concerns about National, Financial and Personal Security
SYDNEY, 5 September, 2006 – A growing number of Australians are more worried about their security today than they were in the June 2006 quarter survey, with concerns over the threat of terrorism seeing the sharpest rise according to the Q3 Unisys Security Index.
An additional 1.6 million Australians now say they are extremely or very concerned about the threat of war or terror, compared to 3 months ago.
Overall, the Unisys Security Index has recorded an 11 point rise from 115 to 126 out of 300 over the last quarter, fuelled by heightened concerns over national, financial and personal security.
The Unisys Security Index, undertaken by Newspoll, is the nation’s only regular snapshot of levels of concern in the community towards a range of security issues.
Australians have again nominated identity theft, credit card fraud and terrorist attack as their top three concerns, the same ranking as last quarter.
“Latest results from the Unisys Security Index show that levels of concern in the community are increasing while the nation’s top 3 security concerns remain unchanged”, said General Manager and Vice President of Unisys Asia Pacific, Andrew Barkla.
“This is consistent with trends emerging across our client base. Business, governments and consumers are today approaching the issue of security with a much more comprehensive understanding of the range of issues involved and they appreciate the need for a variety of responses”, he said.
The September Unisys Security Index is based on a survey conducted in mid August, following the foiled terrorist attacks in London and increased activity in Lebanon.
The National Security Index jumped 18 points to 139 and was the largest single rise of any of the four indices that make up the overall Unisys Security Index.
Concerns about immediate threats to personal safety remain comparatively low, although rises were recorded in all other indices with:
The Top 3 ranked concerns of Australians remains the same as the June Quarter.
Unauthorised access to or misuse of personal information is the No.1 concern with 59% of all Australians extremely or very concerned over the threat of identity theft, has grown by approximately 600,000 since the June benchmark Index.
Credit Card/Debit Card Fraud was No. 2 with 58% of Australians extremely or very concerned over people accessing their cards, up 5 percentage points over June.
The third highest result was the threat of War/Terror with 52% of Australians saying they are extremely or very concerned, a rise of 11 percentage points over last quarter.
“Australians are clearly aware and conscious of the changing domestic and global circumstances which impact upon our individual and collective security.
“We remain committed to the Unisys Security Index as a valuable tool for business, government and the community in understanding public sentiment and how best to respond to it”, said Mr. Barkla.
Other important findings include:
National Security Index
Financial Security Index
Internet Security Index
Personal Security
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Contacts
Jane Dally, Unisys, 02 9647 7758
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