Sixty percent of nearly 1,000 Americans from all 50 states who responded to a PC Matic survey do not believe the U.S. government is prepared to defend its assets in the event of a cyber attack.
The 2022 “Americans on Cybersecurity” report showed that public trust in the government’s cybersecurity readiness has eroded by 3 percent compared to last year’s findings, PC Matic said Tuesday.
The number of respondents who believe the federal government should increase measures to protect citizens from internet-based threats increased from 61 percent in 2021 to 66 percent this year.
“In our increasingly reliant cyber world, and especially considering the lack of confidence Americans currently have, preventative cyber technologies must be prioritized and put in place to harden American’s cyber defenses and boost public confidences immediately,” said Rob Cheng, founder and CEO of PC Matic.
PC Matic found public confidence was highest in Washington, D.C., and lowest in Kansas when it comes to state preparedness in information technology security.
The nationwide survey included IT professionals, 38 percent of whom expressed a lack of confidence in government cyber defense abilities.