A study coming out on Monday finds consumers are twice as likely to hold a grudge against a company that accidentally loses personal information about them than a company that loses such data as the result of a crime such as hacking. 

 The study, co-authored by security software company Vontu and researchers at the Ponemon Institute, says 62% of 786 people surveyed say they’d be more upset with a company that lost their personal information through negligence than if data were filched by a criminal enterprise.  The difference, says Vontu CEO Joseph Ansanelli, is that victims of identity theft sympathize with companies that also are victimized.  If, on the other hand, a company that is supposed to protect data loses it, that’s seen as an unforgivable breach of trust. 

 This anger may be misplaced. The study says stolen data is much more likely to result in harm to consumers than accidentally lost personal information.

 The study also finds the specter of ID theft to be widespread.  Some 62% of respondents to the survey say they’ve been notified that their confidential data has been lost or stolen.  The full survey results will be available Monday on Vontu’s Web site.