Kaspersky has revealed trends in attitudes around cybercrime, finding that most adults (16-55+) believe they are knowledgeable about online security (60%).
However, they have become so complacent towards the subject that over a fifth (22%) have still fallen victim to phishing attacks and more concerningly, only 21% have actually taken action, even after they have suffered a breach.
In the UK, only one in ten adults admit to having taken preventative action after falling victim to a phishing attack by posting about it on social media to alert others, comparing to a quarter (25%) in Greece who said the same, despite being aware of its dangers and what could happen.
With the majority of people now working at least partly from home, lax attitudes are putting businesses at risk as people are now using company computers and devices for personal use.
This trend exposes corporate networks to threats such as phishing scams, Trojans, spyware, and adware.
If malware ends up on a business computer, attackers could penetrate the corporate network and steal sensitive information, including both business development secrets and confidential personal data.
Human error is a major cause of cyber incidents – the 2023 Gartner report found that by 2025, almost half of all cyber incidents will be due to a lack of talent or human error.
Commenting on the survey, David Emm, principle security researcher at Kaspersky said: “It’s clear that despite being aware of the risks of cybercrime, many adults are still choosing a laidback attitude towards online safety in both their personal and professional lives.
“Compromising the security of your own data is one thing, however, careless attitudes towards corporate security not only put data at risk, but potentially your job too.
“Whilst there is an onus on individuals to act responsibly and apply common sense and knowledge to personal and corporate cyber security, there is also a responsibility on businesses to educate.
“Businesses need to prepare their cyber security policies and plans around the worst-case scenario and have measures in place to prevent attacks, but they also have to take the time to teach employees about the types of threats they could face.”
Despite knowing the risks, the majority of adults are also still happy to share personal information online, according to the survey.
Nearly three-quarters (74%) of respondents, who admit to being a victim of a phishing scam, admit to including personal information such as their name and location of social media channels.
Further, the 69% of victims are still using personal information, such as their favourite football team and first pet’s name, to hep them remember their passwords.
Emm concluded, “Most cyber-attacks on corporate systems start by tricking individual members of staff into doing something that ultimately compromises security processes. We all need to be aware of how our individual actions have consequences both for ourselves and the company we work for.”
Recommended
Greater awareness and education around online security is necessary to combat the increasing prevalence of fraud and phishing scams and to educate the next generation on the dangers of cybercrime.
Kaspersky recommends that all adults no matter their age take online safety seriously and take the necessary steps to protect themselves from cybercrime.
Businesses can also help by increasing awareness of the risk of using corporate devices for personal use and the need to be more aware that individual actions have major consequences not just on them personally, but to entire organisations.
This includes using strong and unique passwords for each online account, not sharing personal information online, and being cautious when clicking on links or opening attachments in emails.
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