WASHINGTON—A new survey conducted by Echelon Insights for NetChoice reveals that 62% of likely voters are increasingly concerned about government cybersecurity following the July Crowdstrike and Microsoft outage.
The poll, which surveyed 1,031 likely voters from August 23-25, 2024, shows a clear demand from Americans for congressional action and improved safeguards in government IT infrastructure.
Key Findings:
- Increased Cybersecurity Concerns: 62% of respondents reported being “much or somewhat more concerned” about both the security of federal government IT systems and the stability of critical infrastructure following the July outage.
- Call for Congressional Action: An overwhelming 72% agree that Congress needs to look into the government’s reliance on Microsoft, while 71% support Congressional hearings with all stakeholders related to the IT outage.
- Microsoft’s Perceived Responsibility: 67% of respondents hold Microsoft at least somewhat responsible for the outage, demonstrating that Microsoft needs to provide answers about how it will prevent future issues. 69% of voters hold Crowdstrike responsible.
- Demand for Change: A total of 65% of respondents believe the government needs to alter its approach to using Microsoft products, with 19% advocating for a switch to alternative software and 46% calling for additional safeguards.
“This poll clearly demonstrates that American voters are deeply concerned about the security of our government’s IT infrastructure,” said Carl Szabo, NetChoice Vice President & General Counsel. “The July outage has served as a wake-up call, highlighting the risks associated with over-reliance on a single vendor. Voters want Congress to address concerns about the government’s over reliance on Microsoft might undermine U.S. cybersecurity.”
These findings come at a crucial time as the House Homeland Security Committee prepares to hold a hearing featuring a Crowdstrike SVP but has neglected to include a representative for Microsoft. This new poll illustrates that Congress should include Microsoft in these hearings, too.
“Our government spends billions on technology procurement annually,” Szabo added. “American taxpayers expect these investments to result in robust, secure systems that can withstand cyber threats. Our polling demonstrates that voters want to see the government be proactive at identifying weaknesses in our systems, such as an overreliance on one vendor.”
You can find a one pager on the results here and detailed survey results here.
Survey Methodology: The survey of 1,031 likely voters was conducted online by Echelon Insights from August 23-25, 2024. The margin of error is ±3.6 percentage points.
Please contact press@netchoice.org with inquiries.
TOP LINES: VOTER CONCERNS FOLLOWING MICROSOFT-CROWDSTRIKE OUTAGE
- Growing Gov IT security concerns:
- 62% of respondents are “Much/Somewhat more concerned” about the security and reliability of the U.S. federal government’s IT systems following the July IT outage involving Microsoft (Q22).
- 62% of respondents are “Much/Somewhat more concerned” about the stability and security of critical infrastructure systems in the U.S. after the outage (Q25)
- Desire for Congressional Action:
- 72% agree that “The United States Congress should prioritize learning more about why the government is so reliant on Microsoft” (Q26).
- 71% agree that Congress should hold hearings with all stakeholders related to the IT outage (Q26). This contrasts w/ yesterday’s news that there will be a hearing with only Microsoft.
- Microsoft’s Responsibility:
- 67% say they hold “Very/Somewhat responsible” to Microsoft for the outage, indicating a supermajority of Americans think Microsoft is at least somewhat responsible (Q21).
- Switching Software or Implementing Safeguards:
- 19% believe that businesses and government agencies should switch away from Microsoft software, indicating a desire for alternatives (Q23).
- 46% of respondents believe that businesses and government agencies should continue to use Microsoft software but with additional safeguards, reflecting a significant interest in enhancing security measures within the existing framework (Q23).
- Therefore a total of 65% of respondents think the government needs to make changes to how they use Microsoft products.