The results of a new survey of 1,005 consumers released last week show that although 78 percent of U.S. Internet users plan to shop online this year, more than 69 percent of those shoppers will limit their online purchasing because of concerns associated with the safety of their personal information.

The survey was conducted by Truste , a nonprofit privacy organization in San Francisco, and market research firm Taylor Nelson Sofres PLC in New York. More than 40 percent of the respondents said that privacy-related concerns would deter them from purchasing from smaller online retailers. About 22 percent said they won't be purchasing online at all. The survey was conducted online between Oct. 27 and Nov. 1.

"There's definitely a reason for both consumers and merchants to feel more concerned" about data security and privacy issues compared with previous years, said John Pescatore, an analyst at Stamford, Conn.-based Gartner Inc.

Assessing the risks

For consumers, the biggest risks come from hackers' increasing use of keystroke- logging and password-acquisition tools, Pescatore said. Such remote access tools let cyberthieves capture sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, from consumers who are conducting business online, he said.