Consumers like firms that protect privacy.

• Position: DATA SECURITY - Survey - Brief article

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Companies that protect customer information and privacy score with consumers, according to the Ponemon Institute survey results released in February 2010.

Ponemon Institute's fifth-annual "Most Trusted Companies for Privacy Study" found that privacy and information security protections are critical in building customer trust and brand loyalty.

More than 6,600 U.S. adults responded to the survey, which included more than 38,000 individual company ratings. The survey found that:

* Only 41% of those surveyed feel they have control over their personal information. This number has shown a downward trend since 2006.

* For 59%, fear of identity theft was a major factor in diminishing their trust of company brands.

* Sixty percent identified substantial security protections as a "trust asset." A trust asset could be limitations on...