18% of Internet User Have Fallen Victim to Data Theft

18% of users of Internet in the United States has been the victim of theft of important information, e.g. of bank accounts, and this problem seems to be increasing, according to a research published Monday.

The study conducted in January by the Pew Research Center shows a strong increase of thefts of information in mid-2013, when 11% of respondents said that they have been the victim of this crime.

The research also showed that 21% of persons reported their email accounts or social networks were compromised, the same percentage as last year.

Data comes in the context of a concern increased by «Heartbleed», an important failure in software encryption used by half of all sites, designed to protect keys and other data, such as the bank.

According to researchers at Pew, Internet users are now more concerned «about the amount of personal information available online»: 50% of respondents expressed this concern against 33% in 2009.

The research is based on a survey of 1,002 adults between 23 and 26 January.