Survey: People Want to Know About Government Data Breaches ‘In Real Time’

The majority of Washington, D.C., area residents want to hear about the next government data breach in real time, according to a recent survey.

Of the 500 residents polled -- 20 percent of whom are current or former federal employees -- the vast majority do not want to wait months to hear about federal hacks, such as the massive Office of Personnel Management breach, according to a recent survey by Accenture.

But those least concerned with being kept in the loop? Millennials.

About 56 percent of millennials said they want the government communicating breaches in real time, compared to 79 percent of the so-called Silent Generation (born between the mid-1920s and early 1940s), 66 percent of baby boomers and 64 percent of members of Generation X, according to the survey. 

In fact, despite likely being most familiar with the digital world, millennials were generally the least concerned with the government's cybersecurity practices, according to the survey.

When asked whether the government should invest in data security so citizens’ data is protected, 63 percent of millennials agreed, compared to 86 percent of the Silent Generation.

And when asked whether the government should be more transparent about the public’s data, barely more than half of the millennials polled said they agree, according to the survey.

This was less than any other generation. The only group with a lower percentage was federal employees, 44 percent of whom responded affirmatively.

(Image via wk1003mike/Shutterstock.com)