Agreed. Security is essential. A problem with centralized sites is that the user has no knowledge or input regarding the security efforts - or investment in security solutions. One membership site that comes to mind - was hacked after collecting personal information from tens of thousands of members, over several years.

The hacker discovered that even the most basic security feature that their host charged only a few dollars each month for- had been declined. The site made a fortune in advertising fees but skimped on protecting their users. The hacker himself was so stunned by this that he posted a message on CraigsList (Nationwide community message board) to reveal this fact and expose the sites negligence.

I was one of the members who's data was stolen. The site did not contact me to warn me of possible risk of misuse of my data. I had to learn of this from a message posted by the hacker himself. True story!