As new generations bring change in focus and perspective, organizations must learn about the new demographic and restructure their priorities to meet the needs of their new audience. The Millennial generation has risen in the digital age, and so have received even more attention as a group than the generations before them.
They have also taken in more available information like no other era has had the opportunity to do. And in the course of that learning, one of the issues that has stood out to Millennials has been the overabundance of data theft incidents which have affected millions of Americans.
Loss of Trust
A new study by Intercede, a digital identity and credentials expert, revealed that Millennials in the US and the UK have almost entirely lost trust in the ability of government and business to protect their personal information online.
Specific industries earned different levels of confidence, with social media invoking little to no trust in 61% of those polled, while 38% had little trust–if any–in retailers. Notably, only 4% had complete trust in the ability of fixed and mobile telecom operators to protect their data, while some 15% had none at all.
Perhaps because of their early introduction into the digital reality, Millennials see most clearly the gaps in security, and yet are less focused on the behaviors that are natural to them, freedoms that they expect to continue to enjoy in the coming decades.
Challenges
Because Millennials are not ready to accept the standard approaches to data security, or fall in line with practices that are inconvenient or perhaps even outdated. In fact, in a study comparing habits of Baby Boomers, Generation Xers, and Millennials, the latter had the worst password reuse habits of all the demographics, where 85% admitted to re-using credentials across sites and services.
The outcomes desired by these Millennials can be challenging to discover, as less than one-third of respondents expressed interest in more secure and convenient digital verification methods than complex passwords. But 30% of Millennials would at least consider digital chip implants as a next-generation method for secure identity management.
This group is also the most likely to find security workarounds for restrictive workplace controls, and 16% will accept social media invites from strangers. So as various risky behaviors increases the challenge for businesses seeking to answer for the security requirements, the trend points to an upgrade in authentication requirements that must transcend increasingly complex, multi-step passwords.
A New Age of Data Security
80% of Millennials consider it vitally to very important that personally identifiable, financial, and medical data be shared only with those whom they have authorized access. While other data garnered less concern, this generation is overall less willing to surrender data simply to earn free stuff or get a better experience.
Communications technology expert and futurist Lubna Dajani said, “Major data breaches happen every week and Millennials, along with the rest of the general public, have found the trust they put in government institutions and businesses to protect their digital identities are being shaken…This is by no means an apathetic generation, if business and government leaders don’t adopt better protocols now, Millennials will soon rise up and demand it.”
Be a part of the data security innovation as called for by the rising generation, and invest in data security solutions that will satisfy Millennials, Gen Xers, Boomers, and the next era alike.
Come learn how TelecomMedic can help your business meet Millennial needs: https://telecommedic.com.