Majority of security chiefs express belief taking the right precautions will protect the average consumer from becoming a victim of identity theft.

About 58 percent of the respondents say identity theft can be prevented, 28 percent believe identity theft is inevitable regardless of the precautions taken by consumers, while 15 percent are simply unsure. Of those who believe precautionary steps will help, respondents, comprising the nation's leading security executives, recommend 10 tips in safeguarding against identity theft.

They are do not share passwords or PIN numbers with anyone (95%); do not reply to, or click on links within, emails or pop-up messages that ask for personal or financial information (92%); update virus protection software regularly (91%); update security patches for web browsers and operating systems regularly (90%); protect your social security number at all costs i.e., do not give it out unless it is mandatory (90%); shred, or otherwise destroy, all documents with personal information prior to disposal (90%); monitor personal credit reports and statements from financial accounts regularly (89%); install firewall software (88%); before transmitting personal information online, verify that the connection is secure i.e., check for an "s" after "http" in the URL, as well as a lock symbol in the lower right-hand corner of the screen, which indicates the transmission is encrypted (84%); and do not email personal or financial information (71%).

Only 2% of respondents recommend staying offline altogether as a precautionary measure.

Majority, or 74 percent, of the respondents believe the theft of an average consumer's identity is the fault of both consumers and organizations failing to implement security precautions. Only 16% believe theft is more likely as a result of organization's failure to protect personal information, while 8% believe lack of security precautions among consumers is more likely to lead to identity theft.

"Cybersecurity really requires cooperation of individuals, companies and government, as these results indicate. The good news is that the steps CSOs recommend for consumers are pretty straightforward. You don't have to be a computer expert to greatly reduce your risk of identity theft," says Derek Salter, CSO magazine editor.

Meanwhile, 45 percent of respondents anticipate a "digital Pearl Harbor" i.e, a situation where a dedicated group of cyber-terrorists or malicious hackers plunge America into chaos by using computer-technology and the Internet to attack national critical infrastructure in the future, with 32% anticipating an attack to occur in more than one year and 10% anticipating it to occur within 7-12 months.

Although almost half of security executives responding to the survey anticipate digital Pearl Harbor, 59 percent of the respondents are not confident in the U.S. government's ability to successfully secure the U.S. information infrastructure and respond to cyber emergencies. When asked how government could better safeguard cyberspace for its citizens, the top answer from respondents is a tie between establishing better communication with and among the private sector (71%) and educating more people about cyber security roles and capabilities (71%). Other high-scoring recommendations include: make cyber security a greater priority (70%), educate the nation's critical infrastructure on cyber security risks and how to respond to cyber emergencies (68%), and develop national cyber threat and vulnerability evaluations and cyber security contingency strategies (64%). Of note, 49% of respondents believe consumers, the private sector and the U.S. government are equally responsible for securing cyberspace.

CSOs are also facing cyber security threats on the home front. Survey findings reveal the majority of respondents (and/or someone in their household) experience spyware/adware (75%), virus or other malicious code (71%) and phishing attacks (59%) at home. One in four (24%) respondents cites exposure of private or sensitive information by a third party as something someone in their household personally experienced. Only fourteen percent (14%) of security executives and/or their household members have personally experienced identity theft. Of those respondents who have experienced identity theft in their household, the average dollar amount loss is $1,558.

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