Online snooping ok, Cyber policing critical, say Dutch residents

63 percent of Dutch people believe that the government should not be allowed to sneakily watch what's going on on their computers in order to prevent cyber crime. But 77 percent of citizens do think that the police should be given additional powers to hack suspects' computers. This is according to a study commissioned by IT company Capgemini done by TNS NIPO. Two-thirds of respondents indicated that they are reasonably well aware of the dangerous aspects of internet use such as viruses and cybercrime. Yet most citizens fear that the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime is significant, and 86 percent think that the government should fight cybercrime more actively. The results of the study also show that digitalization has become increasingly pervasive in society and that this also entails certain expectations from Dutch citizens. 64 percent of respondents want a government that is digitally accessible and 48 percent want more digital communications from organizations in the security domain. Only 43 percent of the population trust that the government treat their personal information safely, compared to 56 percent who are not convinced. Dutch citizens are most willing to trust their information to the Tax Authorities and DigiD, 57 percent, hospitals, 51 percent, and banks, 50 percent. Google and online stores are the least trusted, with 9 and 8 percent respectively.