The Baby Boom generation has always been known as a progressive bunch. They took a leading role in promoting civil rights and produced some of the most groundbreaking music ever recorded. But when it comes to digital security, Baby Boomers are the opposite of progressive, and at Outhouse IT we strive to play a role in filling the generation gap.
According to a recent digital security survey conducted in 15 North American cities by mobile/Internet security solutions provider and Outhouse IT Security Partner AVG Technologies, the Baby Boomers who have been setting the trends for the past 40 years are woefully behind the curve when it comes to digital security.
Defined as adults between the ages of 46 and 64, Baby Boomers make up one quarter of the North American population. Eighty-one percent own desktop computers, 61 percent use laptops, and another 30 percent have smartphones. Twenty percent use tablets to conduct online transactions. So in terms of overall digital savvy, Baby Boomers hold their own.
However, survey results also show that 65 percent of Baby Boomers don’t check online banking statements more than once per week, nearly 60 percent do not use a cell phone password and nearly 20 percent report at least one other person knows their password. Especially in this age of BYOD, these trends leave employers of Baby Boomers at enhanced risk of hacking attacks and data loss. Furthermore, companies serving a large Baby Boomer clientele may see their customer satisfaction scores drop as a result of poor personal security practices (such as leaving sensitive financial information improperly secured on a mobile device) leading to problems the customer associates with their products and services.
Outhouse IT Provides Baby Boomer Business Owners Digital Security Help
To use a term many Baby Boomers would probably prefer to forget ever existed in their vernacular, Outhouse IT offers some “groovy” assistance to this situation. Outhouse IT reviews their clientele to see who employs a large number of workers in this demographic, and diplomatically but directly explain the unique security risks they may be exposed to. As mentioned above, employers with a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policy (their ranks grow by the day) are especially vulnerable to Boomer lapses in areas like properly securing mobile devices and could probably use some additional managed security.
In addition, Outhouse IT provides IT Service to companies who provide products and services popular with Baby Boomers – such as healthcare, financial services, legal services and accounting The exact type of clientele who can most benefit from extra managed protection of customer data and digital transactions. Even though in many cases these companies would not actually be at fault for a security breach occurring on the consumer end, the customer is still always right, and Baby Boomers did not attain their cultural importance by sitting back and being quiet when things go wrong. Security assistance is worth the investment to keep customers happy.
