Americans conflicted about WikiLeaks

As we noted in a recent news story, Americans are significantly more concerned about nearly all aspects of their supply chain security compared to six months ago. This includes the threat posed by WikiLeaks.

According to new research conducted by Unisys Corporation, Americans fear there may be a bit too much transparency in their business dealings.

When asked about the recent WikiLeaks incident involving leaked classified U.S. government data, American respondents appeared to have mixed feelings on the issue. Nearly half (48 percent) of Americans surveyed were familiar with the WikiLeaks incident. Of those, 52 percent agreed “strongly” or “somewhat” with the statement that the release of the information was good and made the government accountable.

However, 64 percent of Americans surveyed agreed with a statement that release of the information was harmful and that WikiLeaks should be shut down.

In addition, 73 percent of Americans surveyed who were familiar with the WikiLeaks incident expressed a lack of confidence in governments’ ability to prevent future data leaks.

Business journalists are often obliged to rely on government agencies for trade data, earnings reports, and other intelligence that might expose some companies to scrutiny they would prefer not to have. Trade publications, however, would soon lose their credibility if they were to expose supply chain strategies which could be used by competitors.

WikiLeaks and other forms of “citizen journalism” represent a real threat to the U.S. trade community, too.

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