Editor’s note Yoshi Yonekawa is director of the business planning division at marketing research firm Rakuten AIP, New York. This is an edited version of a post that originally appeared here under the title, “Consumer perception of data privacy in Asia.

Cyber security and data privacy protection are making headlines around the globe, especially after the recent worldwide cyber-attack by ransomware WannaCry. Companies are scrambling to strengthen security measures, while governments are moving to increase data protection of its citizens (e.g., new data privacy protection laws planned in Japan and EU).

But what do consumers think about all of this? My team asked consumers in Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam about their opinions of what they perceive as sensitive info, how secure they feel about means of communication and their perception of how much control they feel they have over their own personal information.

Sensitive personal information

Across the surveyed Asian countries, credit card numbers rose to the top as the most sensitive personal information. This isn’t too surprising given that it’s directly tied to your personal finances and we often hear stories about credit card data breaches.

While government-issued ID numbers were also a common piece of sensitive info, countries in Southeast Asia notably picked communication contents as being highly sensitive (e.g., contents of phone conversations, e-mail and chat/text). Japan on the other hand places home address right behind credit cards, with communication concerns mainly centered around e-mails.

Landline was viewed as most secure means of communication in Japan, while mobile and e-mail were on par in Southeast Asia.

Among various methods of communication, landline phones are top-of-mind in Japan for being most secure. In Southeast Asia however, mobile phones and texts, as well as e-mails are seen as equally secure – Thailand actually places them slightly higher than landlines. Smartphone chat apps and social media, while below phone/text/e-mail, are seen as relatively more secure in Southeast Asia vs. Japan.

Consumers in Japan were less confident over control of personal info vs. Southeast Asia.

When asked about perceptions of how much control they have over their own personal info, consumers in Japan showed the lowest level of perceived control.

  • Less than a third agree that they are fully aware of how their personal info are collected, aware of who’s in possession and having control over how it’s used.
  • Only a quarter feel they can easily remove inaccurate info about themselves online.
  • Just below a fifth are confident their info held by companies will not be stolen.

Singapore shows a bit more optimism, while consumers in Thailand and Vietnam are much more confident in their control over their own personal info.

One can clearly see that consumer perception of privacy and security of personal information

differs by country and region in Asia – a true portrayal of its diversity. The region has historically been slower than the EU in introducing data protection laws. Many countries have based their laws off the EU Data Protection Directive of 1995, and introducing their own versions a decade later. As the EU is taking the next step in rolling out a new data protection law in 2018, it could be a turning point for Asia to further strengthen privacy protection for the region.

Japan’s new privacy protection law is a revision of its current form to be more in line with the upcoming new EU law. Key revisions are centered around ways companies handle personal information, especially around third party disclosures, transfer of data overseas and collection of sensitive info.

It shouldn’t be long before we see activity from other countries in Asia – particularly given how fast the region has adopted new technology catering to all facets of life, which inevitably brings forth increasing issues of privacy protection.

Methodology 

The survey was conducted online from May 8-10, 2017 among consumers ages 18 and older in Japan, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam using Rakuten AIP proprietary panels. Sample size ranged around 300 respondents per country.