Online trust is vital for the world economy

Symantec chief executive warns web firms to prove they are trusted

Businesses must do more to breed trust among online users or risk damaging the global economy, warns security supplier Symantec.

The company’s chief executive John Thompson told delegates at its Vision conference in San Francisco on Monday that the new breed of security threats from criminals intent on stealing personal and financial details are prompting consumers to rethink doing business online.

Thompson says it is now imperative that businesses can prove they are genuine to ensure consumers are not deterred from using their services.

‘As more interactions happen online, it becomes critical that each and every one of us – enterprises and consumers alike – can prove to the other that we can be trusted,’ said Thompson.

‘If we fail to protect online interactions we won’t just slow the growth of ebusiness, but of all business. We won’t just hurt the digital economy but the economy as a whole,’ he said.

But analysts believe Thompson is over dramatising the issue of online trust.

William Hurley, senior analyst at US research organisation Data Mobility Group, says consumers are obviously aware of security threats and concerned about the risks poised by criminal gangs.

But he doesn’t think the global economy is in imminent danger of declining.

‘I don’t think you can look at the retail numbers and say there’s been any impact of consumers lack of willing to engage with the internet,’ said Hurley.