TMPLee.DODCSC@MIT-MULTICS@sri-unix.UUCP (08/19/83)
It is with some trepidation that I send this, but here goes. Does anyone know of any public opinion polls that were done in the wake of the movie WarGames? Some of you may know that back in about 1978 the Lou Harris organization, under the direction of Prof. Alan Westin of Columbia did an opinion poll that discovered that 54% of the sample felt computers were a threat to their privacy and that 63% of them felt that their security was so poor that future use of computers should be curtailed. (The study has many more details, such as breaking the poll down between the hoi polloi and those who knew something about computers and those who were executives (which may or may not have known about computers.) Anyway, I would be very interested in hearing from anyone who knows POSITIVELY of any such opinion polls conducted in the wake of WarGames to see whether the public felt more or less (presumably) comfortably about computer security as a consequence of it. Please reply to me directly. I do NOT, repeat, do NOT want comments of any sort about the movie itself, merely whether anyone knows and can report on any valid study of public opinion about computer security. I also do NOT want anything about arms control, the liklihood of accidental nuclear war (unless it involves a failure of computer security). Thanks all #Ted Lee p.s. -- this is also being sent to some addressees that won't show up in the header fields; privacy and security, you know.