With 200 million online shoppers in the US spending nearly $600B consumers have clearly embraced e-commerce. That implies a high level of trust in the online infrastructure. The CA Security Council decided to survey US consumers to gauge how security savvy they really are, and how much they trust their e-commerce infrastructure.

1. Certificate Authority
Security Council (CASC)
2015 Consumer Trust Survey

2. Methodology
• Survey conducted by Survata Consumer Research
• Online research panels
• 670 responses from the United States
• 18 years or older
• Shop online at least several times a year

3. Key Findings
• Consumers trust the padlock
and green bar
• Online shopping is important
• Bad stuff does happen
to consumers
• Consumers need to be more
attentive

4. Consumers Look for the Padlock
• 53% recognize the
padlock as adding trust
to the connection
• Only 2% proceed
past ‘connection
untrusted’ message
• Only 3% give credit
card without padlock
68%
19%
11%
2%
Q27: Consider the following
scenario… You search for a pair
of shoes you want to buy and
click on the first site on Google.
Before you get to the site you
see the following message…
I would exit and find a competitor’s site where I could safely complete my purchase
I would click on ‘View Certificate’ and see if I could determine if the site is okay
or not. Based on what I saw I would decide whether to proceed or not.
I would contact the merchant to find a way to purchase safely
I would click on ‘Yes’ and continue with my purchase,
including giving my credit card information

5. Consumers Trust the Green Bar
• 42% understand green
bar means more safety
42%
27%
21%
6%
Q26: Look at the circled area in
the browser address bar shown
below. What does the
combination of the green
padlock and green company
name mean?
4%
In means this website was scrutinized to a higher standard to make
sure they really were Schwab, and that traffic will be encrypted
I don’t know what this means
This indicates the traffic to and from the website will be encrypted
This indicates users need a user name and password for this site
Nothing. This is just a way for Schwab to brand their site

6. Online Shopping is Important
In person
Online
Other
60%
38%
2%
Q17: What percentage of the
money you spend shopping for
various things is spent online
versus in person?

7. Bad Stuff Does Happen to Consumers
• 100% either has been, or knows a cybercrime victim
• Most see being a victim of cybercrime likely
6%
10%
12%
14%
22%
60%
I have lost money to online criminals
I have had personal information or photos
stolen
I have been a victim of identity theft
A hacker has taken over one of my online
accounts
A device of mine (PC, laptop, smart phone or
tablet) was lost or stolen
I have been notified by a company I do
business with that my password is no longer
secure
Q18: Which of the following has happened to you personally?
15%
19%
20%
31%
33%
41%
Lost money to online criminals
Hacker has taken over one of their online
accounts
Had a personal information or photos stolen
A device of mine (PC, laptop, smart phone or
tablet) was lost or stolen
Been a victim of identity theft
Notified by a company they do business with
that their password is no longer secure
Q18: Which of the following has happened to someone
you know (family member, friend, co-worker, etc.)?

8. Consumers Need to be More Attentive
• Most have at least one device
unprotected by passwords
• 43% happily use free Wi-Fi
without any precautions
• One third use one or two
passwords for everything
If it is free I will happily use it
I never use public Wi-Fi
I only use public Wi-Fi if it is encrypted
We use a secure VPN: I am comfortable
accessing the VPN over wireless connections
43%
25%
23%
8%
Q12: What is your policy
concerning the circumstances
under which you would log
onto the use Wi-Fi in a public
area such as an airport
or coffee shop?

9. CAs are Second Most Trusted Institution
17%
40%
42%
44%
45%
47%
49%
68%
The store offering free Wi-Fi
Online merchants
Your browser
Your carrier
Your operating system
Your computer or device manufacturer
Certificate Authorities
Your financial institution
Q21: Please rate your level of trust for each of the following entities. Trust is defined in this context based on their
ability to keep you safe from financial or privacy issues while you are online. (Extremely high/Somewhat high)

10. Recommendations
Recommendations
The survey findings point to five best practices consumers should follow to
their information safe:
• Update your browser to the latest version
• Look for “https” in the address bar
• If your browser gives you a message about an untrusted security certificate
for a website, don’t proceed
• Wherever possible, don’t allow an organization to keep your payment
information on file
• Regulated industries and e-commerce should use high validation to provide
stronger trust and assurance to customers and to protect against fraud