Security fears are still preventing consumers from doing personal business over the internet, with one in four now cutting back on online shopping.

And according to research commissioned by RSA Security, one in five consumers refuses to deal with their bank over the internet because of fears over identity theft and phishing attacks.

"Clearly there is a lot of work to be done if businesses want to build more online trust with consumers. While awareness of threats remains high, consumer confidence in dealing with those threats is low," John Worrall, vice president of worldwide marketing at RSA Security, said at the RSA Conference in San Francisco.

The survey of 1,000 consumers found that only 18 per cent of adults feel that personal information is safe online, and 23 per cent actually feel more vulnerable to identity theft compared to 2004. Some 25 per cent of respondents have reduced their online purchases in the past year.

Two out of five respondents refuse to give out personal information to online merchants, and more than half said that traditional user ID and password security is not enough.

Two thirds of respondents admitted to using fewer than five passwords for all electronic information access, and 15 per cent use a single password for everything.

"We have seen the beginnings of a trend toward the widespread replacement of passwords with better authentication methods. And its continuation will help bridge the gap between consumer awareness of identity theft and actual protection against it," said Worrall.