Millions of Australians Support Greater Police Surveillance of our Roads and Bank Monitoring of Credit Card Use

Most Australians will tolerate employers tracking their internet use but don’t want the government to be able to do so

Sydney, 29 April, 2010 -- New research shows 87 percent of Australians support greater police surveillance of our roads and freeways and 72 percent are in favour of banks increasing surveillance of credit card use.

The results from the Unisys Security Index™ conducted by Newspoll are part of a larger study to understand Australians’ response to increased surveillance in environments ranging from the workplace to the nation’s roads.

“It is important to understand how Australians feel about surveillance in different situations.  Australians appear to be wary of surveillance when they do not see a clear personal benefit,” said David Chadwick, Director, Identity and Security for Unisys in Asia Pacific.

As part of the April 2010 Unisys Security Index, a bi-annual survey of consumer opinion on a range of security issues, an additional question was asked to see whether people were in favour of additional surveillance in the following circumstances:

• Employers increasing surveillance of a worker’s internet usage
• Government increasing surveillance of personal internet usage
• Banks increasing surveillance of people’s credit card usage
• Police increasing surveillance on roads and freeways

The highest level of support was recorded for increased surveillance on roads and freeways, with 87 percent or 14.5 million Australians in favour, perhaps reflecting a desire for even greater safety on the nation’s roads.

Similarly, high support was recorded for increased surveillance by banks of credit card usage, with 72 percent or 11.9 million Australians in favour of it.  The desire for increased security in this area is backed up by additional findings from Unisys Security Index which concluded that 58 percent of Australians are extremely or very concerned about other people obtaining their credit or debit card details – making it the top overall security concern for Australians.

“The support of Australians towards increased surveillance varies significantly depending on the context:  who is conducting surveillance of what activity and, we suspect, the perceived personal benefit of the activity,” explained Mr Chadwick.

“When it came to increasing government surveillance of personal internet use, only 40 percent of those surveyed are in favour, while 54 percent, or more than 9 million Australians, are opposed.  This issue is particularly topical with the Federal Government's internet filtering project currently under debate,” said Mr Chadwick.

”Meanwhile, 55 percent of Australians are in favour of employers increasing surveillance of a worker’s internet usage, and 38 percent are not in favour.  It appears that that while people may not be wild about the idea, they tolerate and understand the right of an employer to know how their equipment is being used.

“What is clear from this research is that Australians hold divergent attitudes on surveillance, depending on the context in which it is used and the public’s perception of the potential benefits,” he said. 

Unisys predicts that there will be increased use of intelligent surveillance equipment driven by better technology and a change in the way that surveillance data is used.  

“Surveillance systems are becoming more sophisticated and intelligent. Using real time or ‘event detection’ technology, they can identify a security breach as it occurs and initiate an immediate action instead of simply recording activity to be reviewed after the incident has happened,” said Mr Chadwick.

“However the successful implementation of any new surveillance program requires clear consultation with the parties involved so that they know the purpose and intended benefits of the measure being introduced,” Mr Chadwick concluded.

About the Unisys Security Index
The Unisys Security Index is a bi-annual global study that provides insights into the attitudes of consumers on a wide range of security related issues.  Conducted in Australia by market research firm Newspoll the Unisys Security Index provides a regular, statistically robust measure gauging levels of concern about various aspects of security. The survey on which the latest Australian Unisys Security Index is based, was conducted nationally 19-21 February 2010 by Newspoll using a nationally representative sample of 1,200 respondents aged 18 years and over.  All results have been post-weighted to Australian Bureau of Statistics data.  The study measures consumer perceptions on a scale of zero to 300, with 300 representing the highest level of perceived concern.  For more information on the Unisys Security Index including additional resource material visit: www.unisyssecurityindex.com.au.

About Unisys Asia Pacific
In Asia Pacific, Unisys delivers services and solutions through subsidiaries in Australia, New Zealand, China, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, The Philippines, Singapore, and Taiwan and through distributors or resellers in other countries in the region.  For more information, visit www.unisys.com.au.   Follow us on www.twitter.com/UnisysAPAC.

About Unisys
Unisys is a worldwide information technology company. We provide a portfolio of IT services, software, and technology that solves critical problems for clients. We specialise in helping clients secure their operations, increase the efficiency and utilisation of their data centres, enhance support to their end users and constituents, and modernise their enterprise applications. To provide these services and solutions, we bring together offerings and capabilities in outsourcing services, systems integration and consulting services, infrastructure services, maintenance services, and high-end server technology. With approximately 26,000 employees, Unisys serves commercial organisations and government agencies throughout the world. For more information, visit www.unisys.com  

Media Contacts:

Julian Brophy, Perception Partners, + 61 408 276 749, julian@perceptionpartners.com.au

Claire Hosegood, Unisys, + 61 411 253 663, claire.hosegood@au.unisys.com