The hacks keep coming — most recently to Facebook and the federal government’s health insurance sites — and consumer trust in online security systems disintegrates along with them, according to a number of recent surveys. During the first half of this year, 3.2 billion consumer files were compromised worldwide, up 72 percent over last year, according to Gemalto. The effect on consumers is a growing sense of mistrust, casting shadows on the payments industry.
Biometrics and multi-factor authentication tools will eventually replace passwords — California this month passed legislation banning weak default passwords for companies manufacturing internet-connected devices after 2020. But broad new approaches are still a few years away, experts say. Here’s a look at where consumers’ faith in security methods is fraying fastest and the surprising areas where it’s growing.