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UK consumers more likely to abandon a breached company

Yanks and Brits may both have a soft spot in their hearts for beer and sports, but when it comes to trusting a company that has suffered a data breach, these two groups of people have quite different opinions.

A study by the payment security firm PCI Pal found British folks are far less forgiving of a company that suffers a breach, with 41 percent saying they would stop frequenting that store brand forever. Only 21 percent of Americans felt the same way.

That isn’t to say Americans ignore the impact of data breaches, however. Sixty-two percent said they would refrain from spending at a breached company for several months following an attack, compared to 44 percent of Britisher consumers.

The study also found a marked difference of opinion when it comes to what type of business is inherently more trustworthy with a consumer’s data. Fifty-five percent of those in the UK trust a small, local business more than a large national firm, with the belief that a smaller company would be more concerned about its reputation, would less likely be the target of an attack and do a better job protecting data in its possession.

However, those in the U.S. had the exact opposite thought, with only 47 percent believing a local company is more trustworthy and 28 percent having a higher level of faith in a larger firm. Only 22 percent of their British cousins felt the same way about larger companies.

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