UKCloud Health Research Reveals Majority of British Adults Concerned About Protection of Personal Data
UKCloud Health survey reveals that 75% of British adults are concerned about the protection of their personal data, and think the UK government should prioritise working with UK businesses
London – 22 May 2017 – UKCloud Health, the specialist healthcare division of UKCloud, the easy to adopt, easy to use and easy to leave assured cloud services company, has today announced the findings of an extensive survey* into the general public’s stance on data protection. The survey of more than 2,000 UK adults identified that the majority are concerned about whether their personal data and personally identifiable data are protected by companies and public service organisations. 75 percent of respondents said they were concerned about the protection of their personal data – such as financial, tax and criminal records – and 72 percent said they were concerned about the protection of their personally identifiable data, including their date of birth or address.
65 percent also stated that they were concerned about whether their health records, such as medical history or social care records, are protected by companies and public services. The survey was conducted before the recent ransomware attack on the NHS and other organisations worldwide.
The survey also showed that the British public would rather that organisations keep their personal data in the UK, with 82 percent of British adults stating that the Government should seek their permission before storing and processing their personal data with non-UK businesses. What’s more, the survey revealed that 55 percent of British adults think that the UK Government should prioritise working with UK businesses if the price and service is comparable with non-UK businesses. 20 percent of adults said that the Government should always work with UK businesses, regardless of price and service.
Responding to the findings, UKCloud Health CEO, Simon Hansford commented: “There is clearly a significant trust issue when it comes to public perception of personal data protection. It is hardly surprising that we are reluctant to trust non-UK businesses to securely store and process our personal data. The leak of NSA tools and their subsequent use by hackers has shown how they exploit vulnerabilities to conduct covert surveillance. At the same time, the NSA and Trump administration are also using the ever-growing set of legal powers that they have over US-based companies to access data even when it is held outside the US (such as in the UK-based datacentres of US cloud firms). UK-based businesses, like UKCloud, are beyond the reach of such intrusive extraterritorial legal powers and offer greater protection for your personal data.”
“In the lead-up to the UK leaving the EU, it’s even more vital than ever that the government protects the economy and the country’s burgeoning tech sector. The public consensus regarding this issue is clear. Our research clearly shows us that the general public values data sovereignty. Buying from British companies, and keeping data in British datacentres will boost the public’s trust in personal data protection, grow the UK digital economy and help the Government to meet its aspiration of becoming the safest place in the world to be online.”
UKCloud Health was launched in May 2017 to deliver an open, collaborative and UK sovereign public cloud platform specifically to the healthcare industry, supporting health and care organisations, research and life sciences and pharmaceuticals. UKCloud Health is committed to supporting digital transformation across the healthcare sector. Together with its dedicated partners, UKCloud Health offers industry-leading expertise regarding the sector’s core requirements, from protecting the privacy of Patient Identifiable Data to enabling collaboration across government networks, such as N3, HSCN, Janet and PSN.
To download a copy of the full survey report, please click here.
* UKCloud Health commissioned research consultancy, ComRes, to conduct a survey to gauge the opinions of more than 2,000 UK adults. ComRes interviewed 2,044 British adults aged 18+ online between 26th and 27th April 2017. Data are weighted by age, gender, socio-economic grade and region to be representative of all GB adults aged 18+. Examining the general public’s views on data privacy across multiple domains such as government, healthcare and even social media, the survey analyses privacy concerns.