Nearly half of Americans can’t live without their electronic devices (48%) and WiFi (46%), according to a new study.
A survey of 2,000 American adults found that other essentials – in addition to food and water – that people cannot live without include medicine (55%), electricity (53% ) and gasoline (51%).
The study looked at respondents’ views on supply chain issues and found that nearly half say the issues have “somewhat affected” their lives (45%) – qu have an impact on their cost of living, their employment and the search for basic necessities.
One interviewee said, “I’m having a really hard time finding formula,” and another noted, “I’ve had to cut back on groceries.
On average, Americans buy a third of their necessities online, with respondents aged 35 to 44 most likely to get at least half of their necessities this way.
Research suggests better days are on the horizon – two in five Americans are optimistic the situation is improving involving global supply chain disruptions.
But change doesn’t happen overnight: a third of respondents predict supply chain disruptions will continue for another two years (34%).
While 30% think supply chain issues will stay the same, the same percentage think things will only get worse (30%).
Conducted by OnePoll on behalf of WithSecure, the survey also tested respondents’ knowledge of basic economic terms, finding that although seven in 10 Americans are “confident” in their understanding of supply chain issues, only 59% actually know what the term means.
Regarding supply and demand, less than half of respondents knew that it determines the prices of products and services in a free market (41%), while only 45% believe that it determines the prices some gas.
The majority of people, however, have a better understanding of what inflation and recession mean, with 64% and 57% respectively choosing the correct definition.
“Large companies have tens of thousands of suppliers in their supply chains; attacks are on the rise and no industry is off limits,” said Paul Brucciani, Cybersecurity Advisor at WithSecure™. “Every individual working in a supply chain is a potential target. Companies can reduce supply risk by helping employees and suppliers understand how they might be exposed and how they can protect themselves.
While older Americans are more likely to turn to the Internet or television for information about politics and major events, a significant number of younger respondents get their information in interesting ways through sources such as podcasts or newspapers, keeping the most up-to-date on technology and finance.
Overall, respondents of all generations stay informed on economic issues such as the supply chain and inflation.
The research also delved into the link between the global supply chain and cybersecurity.
When it comes to their personal data, 37% admit they feel “somewhat secure” about their cloud storage system.
Respondents cited some advantages of having a cloud data storage system, such as backup and restore (51%), security (42%) and ease of access (41%).
Others said they valued privacy (37%), reliability (36%) and cloud across multiple devices (33%).
While the cloud can be helpful, respondents also noted some of the downsides cloud users are exposed to, including hacking (48%) and phishing (33%) from outside sources, technical issues (44% ) and data loss. (38%).
With these pros and cons in mind, 51% agree they would be broke if hacked or phished, especially since they have stored sensitive content on them (46%).
“Three-quarters of breaches can be prevented by using strong passwords and multi-factor authentication and being alert to suspicious emails,” Brucciani said. “Having effective cybersecurity measures in place and constantly backing up your date will reduce a lot of the risk and should be our first priority.”
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