Global Trust in Digital Services Declines, Finds Thales

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Global Trust in Digital Services Declines, Finds Thales

2025-03-18 16:03 Last Updated At：16:11

MEUDON, France--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 18, 2025--

Thales, today announced the findings of its2025 Digital Trust Index – Consumer Edition, revealing a universal decline in trust for digital services compared to this time last year. Across 13 different sectors, only insurance, banking and Government saw either their trust level remain unchanged or increase very slightly. When asked which sector they trusted with their personal data, not one sector reached above 50% approval. Thales surveyed over 14,000 consumers across 14 countries about their online relationship with brands and services, their privacy expectations, and how brands can earn their trust.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250318397240/en/

This decline in trust comes as nearly one in five (19%) have been informed that their personal data has been compromised in the past year. Consequently, 82% have abandoned a brand in the past 12 months due to concerns about how their personal data was being used.

Global Trust Index Ranking

Banking emerged as the most trusted sector for the second year in a row. However, the research found a stark demographic shift, peaking at 51% of over 55s, and languishing at just 32% of Gen Z consumers (16-14-year-olds).

Government organisations are the only sector where trust increased compared to the previous year, with 42% of global citizens ranking them as a top trusted sector with their personal data, compared to 37% last year.

News media organisations polled the lowest, with only 3% of citizens ranking them as a top trusted sector. Social media, logistics, and automotive sectors only ranked marginally higher, at 4% each.

Commenting on the findings, Sebastien Cano, Senior Vice President, Cybersecurity Products at Thales said:“Global trust in digital services is decreasing or remaining stagnant at best, even among highly regulated industries. One area that does not remain stagnant is the threat landscape. Consumers are more aware than ever before of online threats, and the consequences of their data falling into the wrong hands. As cyber threats evolve so does consumer scepticism, and brands must continuously adapt their security measures to stay ahead and rebuild confidence.”

Too Much Onus on Consumers

More than four in five (86%) of consumers expect some level of data privacy rights from the companies they interact with online. However, amidst growing concerns about data privacy, 63% believe that too much onus is placed on the consumer when it comes to data protection. Over a third (37%) said that they only shared their personal data with an organisation because it was the only way to access a product or service. Only 34% said it was because they trusted organisations to use this data sensibly.

This frustration is also evident when it comes to customer experience. Whether it’s being kicked out of an online queue, being presented with price fluctuations, or experiencing downtime on a website, one in three consumers (33%) voiced frustration with ecommerce, directly caused by bad bots manipulating the customer purchasing process.

Despite this growing scepticism, customers have been clear about their expectations. 64% of consumers said that their confidence in a brand or service would significantly increase if it adopted and implemented emerging or advanced technologies such as passwordless authentication, biometrics, multifactor authentication, and responsible use of AI.

“The Thales Digital Trust Index findings should be alarming to enterprises that conduct business online. The global decrease in digital trust is not only quantifiable, but preventable. Deploying modern Customer Identity Access Management (CIAM), Fraud Reduction Intelligence Platforms (FRIP), GenAI, and data privacy protection solutions properly, with optimizing the customer journey as the primary design principle, will lead to better business and consumer outcomes,” said John Tolbert, Director of Cybersecurity Research at KuppingerCole Analysts.

About the Research

The research was conducted by Censuswide in collaboration with The Red Consultancy on behalf of Thales. The research surveyed 14,009 general respondents in Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, India, Mexico, Japan, Netherlands, Singapore, Sweden, United Arab Emirates (UAE), United Kingdom (UK), and the United States of America (USA). Censuswide abides by and employs members of the Market Research Society and follows the MRS code of conduct which is based on the ESOMAR principles.

About Thales

Thales (Euronext Paris: HO) is a global leader in advanced technologies for the Defence, Aerospace, and Cyber & Digital sectors. Its portfolio of innovative products and services addresses several major challenges: sovereignty, security, sustainability and inclusion.

The Group invests more than €4 billion per year in Research & Development in key areas, particularly for critical environments, such as Artificial Intelligence, cybersecurity, quantum and cloud technologies.

Thales has more than 83,000 employees in 68 countries. In 2024, the Group generated sales of €20.6 billion.

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Israeli strikes across Gaza kill at least 326 Palestinians and shatter ceasefire with Hamas

2025-03-18 16:08 Last Updated At：16:11

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — Israel launched airstrikes across the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, killing at least 326 Palestinians, including women and children, according to hospital officials. The surprise bombardment shattered a ceasefire in place since January and threatened to fully reignite the 17-month-old war.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the strikes after Hamas refused Israeli demands to change the ceasefire agreement. Officials said the operation was open-ended and was expected to expand. The White House said it had been consulted and voiced support for Israel's actions.

The Israeli military ordered people to evacuate eastern Gaza, including much of the northern town of Beit Hanoun and other communities further south, and head toward the center of the territory, indicating that Israel could soon launch renewed ground operations.

“Israel will, from now on, act against Hamas with increasing military strength,” Netanyahu’s office said.

The attack during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan could resume a war that has already killed tens of thousands of Palestinians and caused widespread destruction across Gaza. It also raised questions about the fate of the roughly two dozen Israeli hostages held by Hamas who are believed to still be alive.

A senior Hamas official said Netanyahu’s decision to return to war amounts to a “death sentence” for the remaining hostages. Izzat al-Risheq accused Netanyahu of launching the strikes to try and save his far-right governing coalition and called on mediators to “reveal facts” on who broke the truce.

There were no reports of any attacks by Hamas several hours after the bombardment, indicating it still hoped to restore the truce.

The strikes came as Netanyahu comes under mounting domestic pressure, with mass protests planned over his handling of the hostage crisis and his decision to fire the head of Israel's internal security agency. His latest testimony in a long-running corruption trial was canceled after the strikes.

The main group representing families of the captives accused the government of backing out of the ceasefire, saying it “chose to give up on the hostages.”

“We are shocked, angry and terrified by the deliberate dismantling of the process to return our loved ones from the terrible captivity of Hamas,” the Hostages and Missing Families Forum said in a statement.

A strike on a home in the southern city of Rafah killed 17 members of one family, including at least 12 women and children, according to the European Hospital, which received the bodies. The dead included five children, their parents, and another father and his three children.

In the southern city of Khan Younis, Associated Press reporters saw explosions and plumes of smoke. Ambulances brought wounded people to Nasser Hospital, where patients lay on the floor, some screaming. A young girl cried as her bloody arm was bandaged.

Many Palestinians said they had expected a return to war when talks over the second phase of the ceasefire did not begin as scheduled in early February. Israel instead embraced an alternative proposal and cut off all shipments of food, fuel and other aid to the territory's 2 million Palestinians to try to pressure Hamas to accept it.

“Nobody wants to fight,” Palestinian resident Nidal Alzaanin told the AP by phone from Gaza City. "Everyone is still suffering from the previous months,” he said.

Gaza's Health Ministry said at least 326 people were killed in the strikes and hundreds more wounded. Rescuers were still searching the rubble for dead and wounded as the strikes continued. It was among the deadliest days of the war.

The White House sought to blame Hamas for the renewed fighting. National Security Council spokesman Brian Hughes said the militant group "could have released hostages to extend the ceasefire but instead chose refusal and war.”

An Israeli official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the unfolding operation, said Israel was striking Hamas' military, leaders and infrastructure and planned to expand the operation beyond air attacks. The official accused Hamas of attempting to rebuild and plan new attacks. Hamas militants and security forces quickly returned to the streets in recent weeks after the ceasefire went into effect.

Israel's defense minister, Israel Katz, said the “gates of hell will open in Gaza” if the hostages aren't released. “We will not stop fighting until all of our hostages are home and we have achieved all of the war goals,” he said.

The strikes came two months after a ceasefire was reached to pause the war. Over six weeks, Hamas released 25 Israeli hostages and the bodies of eight more in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners in a first phase of the ceasefire.

But since that ceasefire ended two weeks ago, the sides have not been able to agree on a way forward with a second phase aimed at releasing the 59 remaining hostages, 35 of whom are believed to be dead, and ending the war altogether.

Hamas has demanded an end to the war and full withdrawal of Israeli troops in exchange for the release of the remaining hostages. Israel says it will not end the war until it destroys Hamas' governing and military capabilities and frees all hostages — two goals that could be incompatible.

Netanyahu's office on Tuesday said Hamas had “repeatedly refused to release our hostages and rejected all offers it received from the U.S. presidential envoy, Steve Witkoff, and from the mediators.”

A return to war would allow Netanyahu to avoid the tough trade-offs called for in the second phase of the agreement and the thorny question of who would govern Gaza. It would also shore up his coalition, which depends on far-right lawmakers who want to depopulate Gaza and re-build Jewish settlements there.

The war erupted when Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking 251 hostages. Most have been released in ceasefires or other deals, with israeli forces rescuing only eight and recovering dozens of bodies.

Israel responded with a military offensive that killed over 48,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials, and displaced an estimated 90% of Gaza's population. The territory's Health Ministry doesn't differentiate between civilians and militants, but says over half of the dead have been women and children.

The ceasefire had brought some relief to Gaza and allowed hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians to resume to what remained of their homes.

The return to fighting could also worsen deep internal fissures inside Israel over the fate of the remaining hostages.

The released hostages, some of whom were emaciated, have repeatedly implored the government to press ahead with the ceasefire to return all remaining captives. Tens of thousands of Israelis have taken part in mass demonstrations calling for a ceasefire and return of all hostages.

Mass demonstrations are planned later Tuesday and Wednesday following Netanyahu's announcement this week that he wants to fire the head of Israel's Shin Bet internal security agency. Critics have lambasted the move as an attempt by Netanyahu to divert blame for his government's failures in the Oct. 7 attack and handling of the war.

Since the ceasefire in Gaza began in mid-January, Israeli forces have killed dozens of Palestinians who the military says approached its troops or entered unauthorized areas.

Still, the deal has tenuously held without an outbreak of wide violence. Egypt, Qatar and the United States have been trying to mediate the next steps in the ceasefire.

Israel wants Hamas to release half of the remaining hostages in return for a promise to negotiate a lasting truce. Hamas instead wants to follow the ceasefire deal reached by the two sides, which calls for negotiations to begin on the ceasefire’s more difficult second phase, in which the remaining hostages would be released and Israeli forces would withdraw from Gaza.

Federman reported from Jerusalem and Magdy from Cairo. Associated Press reporters Mohammad Jahjouh in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip; Abdel Kareem Hana in Gaza City, Gaza Strip; Fatma Khaled in Cairo; and Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel, contributed.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war