U.S. Citizens More Worried About ID Theft Than Privacy

Despite recent controversy over surveillance by the NSA, U.S. voters are still much more worried about identity theft than online tracking of their activity, a new study says.

According to a poll of 1,000 U.S. voters conducted by Benenson Strategy Group on behalf of the Computer & Communications Industry Association (CCIA), the vast majority of users are more worried about security than privacy.

"Overall, 75% are worried about their personal information being stolen by hackers and 54% are worried about their browsing history being tracked for targeted advertising," the study says.

"However, when voters are forced to choose which one is more important to them, their focus is almost unanimously (87%) directed on the need to protect their personal information from those who would use the info to harm them," the study continues. "Even those worried about tracking (the 54%) are more worried about hacking by an overwhelming majority (84% to 8%)."

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