Consumer Response To Heartbleed:

A Technographics 360 Perspective

Anjali Lai, Community Manager

Kristopher Arcand, Community Manager

May 7, 2014

© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

What does “Heartbleed” mean to consumers?

When news about “Heartbleed” began to spread on April 7, 2014, consumers came to realize that their personal data shared across half-a-million “secure” websites may not have been secure after all. Recognized as the worst case of vulnerability found since commercial traffic began to flow on the Internet,1 “Heartbleed” raises challenging questions such as: “How safe is the Internet really?” “What is the power of a password?” “Will consumers change their online activity?”

1 Source: Massive Internet Security Vulnerability – Here’s What You Need To Do

Forrester Research tracked consumers’ visceral reactions by tuning into online conversations about “Heartbleed” as they unfolded within a week of the revelations. Forrester also leveraged its ConsumerVoices Market Research Online Community to evaluate how this incident might change perceptions of Internet security, perspectives on data privacy, and online behavior.

© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

TOP DOMAINS HOSTING CONSUMER CONVERSATION

ABOUT HEARTBLEED:

SENTIMENT

MENTIONS AND REACH Mentions, which refers to the number of times “Heartbleed” appeared on a

website or social media post, peaked on April 11, four days after the news broke.

Despite the ebb and flow of conversation volume, sentiments of relevant

dialogue continued to be extremely negative.

“Heartbleed” caused an extremely negative, immediate reaction among consumers online

“Password is dead.” - 550 Online Mentions

Source: NetBase Aggregated Social Listening Data, April 7 to April 14, 2014 (Global)

© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

CONSUMERS ARE CONCERNED BUT NOT SURPRISED

Consumers say they are

taking the following

precautions:

• Changing passwords regularly

• Reading privacy policies

• Running malware/anti-virus software

more often

• Refraining from online transactions

(e.g., banking, shopping)

“I probably won't change my

behaviors too much. I'm already

more dependent on the internet and

my online accounts and interactions

than I'd like to be.” -US

“I've heard about it. I was

… tired. There always

seems to be a new

security threat.” -US

CONSUMERS ASK, “WHAT ELSE CAN I DO?”

Made me feel angry,

invaded, unsafe. But I use

the internet a lot, and

nothing is 100% safe.” -UK

“I don’t really know

what to do for the

best like millions of

others.” -UK

However, consumers are not shocked – they are jaded, feel helpless, and believe “it is what it is”

FEELINGS ABOUT COMPANIES COLLECTING PERSONAL DATA:

Source: Forrester’s ConsumerVoices Market Research Online Community, Q2 2014 (US, UK)

Although the Heartbleed bug causes unrest among consumers,

many see it as just another breach of privacy over the past year.

Still, few are planning to take further precaution – or simply don’t

know what they can do differently to protect themselves and

preserve their way of life.

© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

Privacy isn’t dead – it is possible, and it is essential for building trust

“While only a minority of consumers act for change in privacy practices today, we

believe there is an opportunity to build significant trust with consumers, irrespective

of their age. If you wait for consumers to get annoyed and ask you to change,

you've missed the chance to build trust with them proactively.” - Fatemeh Khatibloo

In the coming years, companies that don’t prioritize their data privacy

strategy will suffer increased regulation, publicity nightmares, and

customer attrition.

Therefore, a company’s privacy initiatives are a differentiator, and need

to be front and center in order to win customer trust effectively.

To learn more, see the December 2013 report: The New Privacy: It’s All

About Context

© 2014 Forrester Research, Inc. Reproduction Prohibited

How we can help you DATA-DRIVEN INSIGHTS THAT PROVIDE A 360° VIEW OF THE CONSUMER

Technographics Survey Data

Who are they? What people say they do.

Technographics Behavioral Data

What, where, and when are they doing things?

Technographics Qualitative Data

Why are they doing it? Why are they saying it?

Technographics Social Listening Data

What are they talking about? How are they

talking about it?

Want to learn more about Forrester’s data offerings, take a look at Data Services