Cybersecurity is not receiving enough attention from presidential candidates

Heading into the first presidential debate, 58 percent of Americans feel the presidential candidates are not paying enough attention to cybersecurity, according to LifeLock.

The results of the survey, conducted online Sept. 9-13 by Harris Poll among more than 2,000 U.S. adults, come as hacked emails from the personal accounts of public officials, most recently former secretary of state Colin Powell, continue to draw headlines.

In fact, more Americans believe they are likely to become a victim of a data breach (39 percent) than catch Zika (8 percent) in the next 12 months, according to the survey.

Older Americans (age 65+) are more likely than younger adults (age 18 – 34) to believe that they are likely to have their personal information compromised in a data breach in the next 12 months (43 percent vs. 34 percent).

The survey also asked Americans about the perceived threat of foreign-government hackers and found 60 percent of Americans are worried about foreign-government sponsored cyberattacks.

The majority of Americans (70 percent) said the U.S. government should be responsible for protecting their personal information. More than half (54 percent) think the U.S. government should spend more on cybersecurity, while only 44 percent say we should spend more on national defense.

The vast majority of Americans (96 percent) agree that it’s important for companies like retailers and financial institutions to make every effort to protect their personal information. And 92 percent also acknowledged that it is ultimately their own responsibility to ensure their personal data is secure.