Public awareness a weak link in cybersecurity

When it comes to cybersecurity, Americans recognize the need for strong passwords and know public WiFi hotspots aren’t necessarily safe for online banking or ecommerce. But U.S. adults are not as good at recognizing email “phishing” schemes or determining if the website on which they’re entering credit card information is encrypted.

That’s according to a new Pew Research Center survey titled “What the Public Knows about Cybersecurity.” It tallied responses from 1,055 adults last year about their understanding of concepts important to online safety and privacy. The results were mixed, highlighting that public awareness of online security measures remains a potential weak link in thwarting cyberthreats.

The Pew Research survey asked 13 questions about cybersecurity. The median score was five correct answers. Just 20 percent answered eight questions correctly.

A relatively large percentage of respondents, however, answered “not sure” to questions rather than providing the wrong answer.

Participants had a good understanding of some security practices such as the importance of strong passwords and less knowledge of others — particularly more technical aspects of web safety such as multifactor authentication and virtual private networks.

Only 54 percent of respondents correctly identified a phishing attack. For cybercriminals, phishing remains a favorite trick for infecting computers with malware. Phishing schemes usually involve an email that directs users to click on a link to an infected website.