ID theft fears hurt online shopping

WASHINGTON: Nearly half of U.S. voters say they don't shop online because they fear identity thieves may capture their bank-acccount information, according to a survey released on Wednesday by a technology-industry trade group.

Amid a rash of corporate foul-ups that have exposed consumers to identity theft, the Cyber Security Industry Alliance found that 71 percent of voters it surveyed believe that new laws are needed to protect consumer privacy online.

Some 64 percent said they wanted the government to do more to protect computer security.

Congress is considering several measures designed to increase corporate data security. Most would require companies to tell customers when a security breach has placed them at risk of identity theft. Some would require companies to take more concrete steps, such as encrypting customer information.

The survey of 1,003 likely voters had a margin of error of 3 percent.

Members of the Cyber Security Industry Alliance include Juniper Networks, McAfee Inc., RSA Security Inc. and Entrust Inc.