Today, the website with job advertisements in the IT industry – theprotocol.it, shared with us the results of its interesting study, which illustrate how we currently protect ourselves against cyberattacks.
There is not a week that goes by in recent years when the media does not raise alarms about further cyberattacks and new methods of extorting data that are used to steal funds from our accounts.
This is also confirmed by statistical data, as more than half of the respondents confirm that they know a person who has been the target of one of the recent cyberattacks, and one in three admit that they have personally experienced such an attack at least once in their life.
The above-mentioned information in the media about subsequent cyberattacks often includes their most popular forms – fortunately, because, as the results of this study show, it has a positive effect, although not for all of us.
We protect ourselves against the most popular cyber attacks, i.e. phishing, by not clicking on links from unknown contacts – 60% of responses, but 40% remain susceptible to this form of attack.
Slightly more than half of the respondents use different passwords for different accounts, which is actually a desirable habit, but we would probably protect ourselves more against leaks if we used two-factor authentication more widely – so far it is at the level of 35% of respondents.
Paweł Rzepa, Lead Ethical Hacker at SoftServe Poland:
We need education and reminders to regularly check the security of our data on the government website. Any device that collects our data and is connected to the Internet can potentially expose us to danger. The vast majority of smart home devices are not adequately protected against threats and often contain known vulnerabilities that can be easily exploited by cybercriminals.
As for the topic of the entry, i.e. proactive security of the devices we use every day – a personal computer or a smartphone, less than half of our compatriots update them regularly.
Interestingly, and at the same time disturbing – 1/4 of respondents believe that the risk of cyber attacks is lower on smartphones than on computers, and only 1/3 realize that this is a myth.
It is not without reason that the results of this report were published just now, when the risk of becoming a victim of cyber attacks is extremely high throughout the year. All, of course, due to the ongoing post-Christmas and New Year’s sales, as Kamil Sztandera, an expert at ChronPESEL.pl, points out today:
The sale period favors criminals. A lower price works like a magnet for many buyers and is so powerful that they lose their common sense. Many people will receive e-mails directing them to fake websites with special offers that are actually intended to steal their data. There will also be text messages informing about the need to pay a small amount to collect a parcel, or calls from concerned police officers or bank employees who will inform us that someone is trying to hack into our account. Let’s not fall for this.
As it is a portal closely related to the IT industry, theprotocol.it also asked specialists in this field how they protect themselves against cyberattacks. It turns out that their results are only a few percentage points higher when it comes to two-factor authentication (+8 pp) or security updates on their devices – computers or smartphones (+7 pp).
Paweł Rzepa:
I am surprised by the results for the group of people specializing in IT. They clearly show that, for example, over 40% of specialists do not install updates on their computers. People who work professionally in IT must be aware of the risk of such recklessness.
Finally, some more optimistic data from the report, namely – the vast majority of respondents are aware of how important it is to use security measures on newly purchased devices, and at the same time make sure to delete sensitive data and files from old devices when replacing them with new ones.
Source: theprotocol.it
Stock Image from Depositphotos.
Source: antyweb.pl
