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The incidents of phishing incidents have been growing at an alarming rate. For solutions to this issue, please go to or contact www.tabularosa.net
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SC Magazine
by Doug Olenick, Online Editor
November 17, 2016
Consumers' poor cyber hygiene costs them billions
Phishing scams will likely remain a popular tactic for
cybercriminals.
The
fact that cybercrime impacts hundreds of millions of people, has cost its
victims more than $100 billion and most people know of the danger has done
little to limit the general complacency and unsafe behavior still prevalent
among internet users.
Symantec's 2016 Cyber Security Insights Report noted
that the vast majority of consumers realize dangers exists, most still act in
an unsafe manner when it comes to operating online. This has resulted in 689
million people in 17 separate countries being victimized at a cost to them of
$128 billion.
This
includes not learning to spot a phishing email, connecting to unsafe public
networks or have the false belief that their connected device is somehow safe
from cybercriminals.
“Unfortunately,
many consumers are not motivated to take even simple steps to stay safe online.
Seventy-six percent of consumers they must actively protect their information
online, but they still share passwords and engage in other risky behaviors,”
the report stated.
A
subset of the general population is even more likely to be victimized by
cybercrime. Symantec noted that millennials are the most common victim with 40
percent having suffered an attack in the last year. As would be expected poor
security habits were the primary reason with 35 percent of millennials saying
they would be willing to share their passwords.
The
primary reason millennials are so susceptible is due to the amount of time they
spend online and the fact that many have the incorrect notion that
cybercriminals simply won't bother attacking their device, Kevin Haley,
Norton's director of security, told SC Media via email.
Despite
consumer's lackadaisical attitude toward protecting their data, in some ways
their actions are no better than corporate workers, many of whom have been
trained to have excellent cyber hygiene. That is being susceptible to phishing
attacks. The report found about 40 percent cannot detect or have to guess
whether an email is part of a phishing attack. On the bright side just over
half did know that an email is likely part of a phishing scam if it asks the
recipient to do something compromising.
Making
poor choices resulting in being compromised is a theme throughout the report.
When using public WiFi 61 percent said they had entered financial information
into their device and 39 percent reported having read out loud credit and debit
card numbers while speaking into their phone.
“Considering
that 71 percent of consumers say public Wi-Fi is useful for checking emails,
sending documents and logging into accounts on the go, this is concerning. If a
hacker is able to access an unsecured Wi-Fi network, they can see the
information people using the network are sending and receiving from their
devices. This means hackers can steal user names, passwords and other personal
information they intercept over the unsecured network, putting consumers at
risk for identity theft,” the report said.
"Consumers
in today's world feel the need to be constantly connected, but most don't
understand the risks associated with it. Nearly a quarter of respondents
plainly said they don't know the best way to protect their personal information
while using public Wi-Fi. As a result, Norton found that while nearly 90
percent of Americans use public Wi-Fi, only 20 percent use a VPN to protect
their information, and many have entered sensitive information while using
public networks by logging into their personal email (58 percent), checking
bank information (22 percent) or entering credit card details (17
percent)," Haley said.
The
report is based on a survey of 20,907 device users ages 18+ across 21 markets,
commissioned by Norton by Symantec and produced by research firm Edelman
Intelligence.
Updates includes Kevin Haley,
Norton's director of security, comments.
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