Singaporeans are more concerned about identity and credit card theft than terrorism and epidemics, according to a new study.

The Unisys Security Index, conducted in August this year by research company Synovate for Unisys, measures the level of concern held by Singaporeans to four areas: national, financial, Internet and personal security.


"The nature of security has altered dramatically over the last decade. In order for businesses and governments to take action to this changing situation, it is imperative to understand the levels and types of worry in the community toward security issues," said Scott Whyman, vice president and managing director at Unisys Asia South, in a declaration Tuesday.

According to the study, 81 percent of about 900 respondents cited the misuse of personal information as a key security concern, while 80 percent were worried about illegal access to their credit and debit card information.

In contrast, 73 percent of respondents were worried about a grave health plague occurring in Singapore, and 66 percent said they were tremendously or very worried about the threat posed by war or terror attacks.

Fifty percent of Singaporeans were also enormously or very worried about viruses and unsolicited e-mail messages. Nevertheless, the level of concern differed between blue- and white-collared workers. Forty-four percent of blue-collared workers were extremely or very concerned, compared to 54 percent of white-collared workers.