UK fears of terror attacks could boostonline salesin the run up to
Christmas as concerned members of the public look for alternatives
to busy shopping centres, according to a survey of nearly 1,000
people across the country.
The
Security Index survey was conducted by ICR on behalf of IT
services company Unisys, and showed that most (86%) of those
surveyed most were concerned about national security threats. More
than half (57%) were either "extremely" or "very" concerned.
Findings by research firm Forrester predicted that
online shopping will increase by 42% on the festive period of
2006, with Britons spending £13.8bn online. This would make the UK
the biggest online spender in Europe.
"Those looking to the internet to do their shopping must also be
aware of the risks there too and because of the increase in online
shopping, there are now significantly more people for the criminals
to target," said Neil Fisher, vice-president, identity management,
Unisys.
"The fears over terrorist attacks may lead consumers into the
arms of fraudsters as people fail to ensure that retailers are
using secure, reputable security software," he said.