GGA & The ITRC Publish Data on Senior & Millennial Digital Habits

Generali Global Assistance (GGA), the developer of a proprietary and innovative identity and cyber protection platform, today published a white paper titled, “Seniors & Millennials: Uncovering the Likeness & Disparities in Today’s Digital Age”, in conjunction with the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC), a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity theft.

GGA and the ITRC polled 1,509 seniors and 1,510 millennials to gain a better understanding of how each subset of society protects their data in today’s digital age. The whitepaper notes that while there are some important differences between seniors and millennials, there are oft-overlooked similarities that unite the two groups, and neither is immune to partaking in risky digital behaviors.

Paige Schaffer, CEO of Global Identity and Cyber Protection Services, commented, “With the continued digitization of our identities and the rise in IoT devices, people need to protect themselves against identity theft now, more than ever. The insights we garnered from this survey will help us better protect customers across generations by understanding how each group protects their personal data, and what can be done to improve upon it.”

Top insights from the whitepaper include:

1. Seniors and millennials are both connecting to a similar number of Internet of Things devices (at least 7 Wi-Fi devices) and both engaging in similar, risky online behaviors.
2. Many seniors (39 percent) store passwords on a sheet of paper while most millennials (40 percent) use an online password manager.
3. Social media usage between generations shows the greatest disparity with 49 percent of millennials opting for high privacy settings while only 30% of seniors opt for the same.
4. An alarming number of seniors (19 percent) and millennials (56 percent) are sharing banking information with others outside of their spouse/significant other.
5. Seniors seem to be making more of an effort (21 percent) than millennials (13 percent) staying in the know about identity theft and fraud prevention, but – across both generations – not enough people are doing so.
6. Both seniors and millennials feel they’re doing all they can to protect their identity, despite a negligible number (21 percent of seniors and 13 percent of millennials) saying they’re protected with an identity protection program.

“The insights from this survey will help both advocates and industry alike. By understanding how different generations engage online and practice identity hygiene, all stakeholders can develop more meaningful tools and education programs to protect consumers,” added Eva Velasquez, President and CEO of the Identity Theft Resource Center.

To view the full whitepaper, please click here.

About Generali Global Assistance 
Generali Global Assistance has been a leading provider of identity and cyber protection solutions, travel insurance, and other assistance services for more than 35 years.  The Company offers a full suite of innovative, vertically integrated travel insurance and emergency services, identity protection solutions, and beneficiary companion services. Generali Global Assistance is part of the multinational Generali Group, which for over 185 years has created a presence in 60 countries with over 74,000 employees. Our success has been built on the foundation of trust that clients have placed in our ability to provide assistance in the most difficult of circumstances. To learn more about Generali Global Assistance’s identity protection offering, please visit https://www.irisidentityprotection.com/.

About the Identity Theft Resource Center (ITRC)
Founded in 1999, the ITRC is a nationally recognized non-profit organization established to support victims of identity theft in resolving their cases, and to broaden public education and awareness in the understanding of identity theft, data breaches, cyber security, scams/fraud, and privacy issues. Through public and private support, the ITRC provides no-cost victim assistance and consumer education through its call center, website, social media channels, live chat feature and ID Theft Help app.

GGA Media Contact 
Jay A. Morakis 
M Group Strategic Communications (for Generali Global Assistance North America)  
+1 646.859.5951 
jmorakis@mgroupsc.com