Seven in 10 young New Zealanders are concerned about unauthorised access to personal information yet are the most likely to use free public Wi-Fi Unisys Security Index finds

New Zealand records highest level of security concern since 2006 Unisys offers tips for safer use of free public Wi-Fi for work and play

Seventy percent of New Zealanders aged 18-34 years surveyed for the latest Unisys Security Index said they are extremely or very concerned about unauthorised access to their personal information, a result that has contributed to the highest level of overall concern reported in New Zealand since the study was launched in 2006.

Even so, 18-34 year old New Zealanders surveyed are more likely to use free public WiFi than any other age group, with almost half (45 percent) of respondents saying they have used free public WiFi in the last year.

In the survey, 15 percent of New Zealanders 18-34 year olds said they had performed work related activities on free public WiFi networks in the last year, twice as many as those aged 35 and over (7 percent).

The Unisys Security Index is a national survey of 543 adults, conducted in February 2012 by ConsumerLink, which provides insights into the New Zealand publics sense of security in the areas of national, financial, personal and internet security.

The overall Unisys Security Index for New Zealand increased 3 points to 144 out of a possible 300 in the last year to reach its highest level since 2006. In particular, the internet and personal security indices are also the highest they have been in the history of the study, at 147 and 143 respectively.

Unauthorised access to, or misuse of, personal information was the top security concern for young Kiwis with 70 percent of New Zealanders aged 18-34 years old saying they were extremely or very concerned about this. This result is substantially higher than in Australia where just 44 percent of young Australians aged 18-34 years were seriously concerned.

The study also found Young Kiwis are the age group most concerned about their ability to meet financial obligations, with 51 percent of 18-34 year olds extremely or very concerned about this issue compared to 38 percent of 35-49 year olds and 27 percent of people aged 50 and over.

Young Kiwis lead the use of Public WiFi:

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7 in 10 young New Zealanders concerned about online privacy