Microsoft not trusted to hold personal data

NEWS A massive 96 per cent of the online population is not happy to let software companies such as Microsoft look after their personal details online, according to the latest research. The news will come as a blow to the Redmond-based software giant as it coincides with the launch of its new operating system, XP, and shows how far it has to go to persuade people to let it be the guardian of their online identities. In a poll, conducted by Taylor Nelson Sofres on behalf of Sun subsidiary iPlanet, only four per cent of UK adults surveyed said they would be prepared to store personal details with a software company such as Microsoft. Bill Malik, VP at Gartner Group, said: "I think you would find a pretty close correlation between that four per cent and the number of people who go bungee jumping and take part in extreme sports - these are risk takers." He added: "This is a critical success factor for Microsoft - it will have to do something pretty substantial to persuade the wider world it can be trusted to look after its data. And not just Microsoft, all the software companies have a pretty steep hill to climb." Microsoft has based its .NET strategy around being a trusted holder of personal data. It plans to store consumer information, including credit card details, on its servers, to make transactions over the web quicker, easier, and more intelligent. However, many have raised questions about Microsoft's ability to look after this information safely, given its security record, and about Microsoft's intentions for the data. Ian Brown, a security expert and researcher at UCL university, said: "Anyone setting up a central point with sensitive data will become a target for hackers. Because of their immense problems in the past with security, Microsoft will be a bigger target than most." He added: "I just hope they don't use their own software to secure the information." The survey interviewed 542 people - 57 per cent of them said they wanted banks to be the ones to guard their sensitive personal details on the web. Microsoft was unable to comment on this story.