After a breach, over half of UK workers changed their user settings and 47 per cent permanently stopped using the company’s services.

Nearly two-fifths (39 per cent) of Brits said they have lost trust in a company due to a data breach or misuse of data they have heard about, with this figure even higher in the US (56 per cent) and Australia (40 per cent), according to research by Okta.

The Okta Digital Trust Index relied on commissioned research among 13,163 office workers globally, including 2,041 in the UK.

It found that trust is hard won but easily lost - “one small mistake can lead to irreparable reputational damage”, said digital identity specialist Okta.

Companies are struggling to maintain trust in a digital world, with 88 per cent of Brits saying they would not use services or purchase products from an organisation they “distrust”.

In addition, 64 per cent have “serious reservations” about using a brand they haven’t heard of before, according to research.

36 per cent deleted their account with the company and 33 per cent deleted the app from their devices.

The pandemic also appears to have heightened awareness of the importance of digital data, leading to 40 per cent of Brits becoming “more cautious” about what they are sharing.

This is a common theme internationally, with a large number of office workers from every country surveyed admitting to being more guarded with their data, particularly those based in Australia (57 per cent), the US (47 per cent), the Netherlands (47 per cent) and Spain (46 per cent).

Ben King, chief security officer for EMEA at Okta, said: “Trust is becoming a strategic must-have for businesses that want to operate in today’s highly competitive, digital-first landscape.

He added: “Organisations need to ensure that they are paying attention to what consumers want the most, which is service reliability and optimal security. Once they’ve gained that trust, brands should be in no doubt that they must work hard to retain it, and that effective cybersecurity is key to them doing so.”

Office workers in the UK, the US, Australia, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Sweden, the Netherlands and Japan were questioned for the research.

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