M’sian consumers still careless when it comes to cyber security
Our findings show that people are growing increasingly aware of the need to protect their personal information online, but aren’t motivated to take adequate precautions to stay safe.
KUCHING: Malaysian consumers who were victims of cybercrime within the past year often continued their unsafe behavior and this complacency in consumer behavior is concerning, cyber security experts highlight.
Norton by Symantec recently released its annual Norton Cyber Security Insights Report which highlights several truths about online crime and the personal effect it has on consumers.
The report also found that consumers who were victims of cybercrime within the past year often continued their unsafe behavior. For example, in Malaysia, even though victims used passwords, they were likely to share their password with others, negating their efforts.
Furthermore, given the rampant rate of cybercrime, it pointed out that the complacency in consumer behavior is concerning.
“Our findings show that people are growing increasingly aware of the need to protect their personal information online, but aren’t motivated to take adequate precautions to stay safe,” said Norton by Symantec, Asia Consumer Business director Chee Choon Hong.
“While consumers remain complacent, hackers are refining their skills and adapting their scams to further take advantage of people, making the need for consumers in Malaysia to take some action increasingly important.”
According to the report, the most common cybercrime consumers experienced was mobile device theft (24 per cent), followed by account password compromised (22 per cent) and hacks into email accounts (21 per cent).
In Malaysia, among those with at least one unprotected device, almost two in five ( 38 per cent) said they do not need protection because they don’t do anything ‘ risky’ online, the report revealed.
Interestingly, 74 per cent of consumers know they must actively protect their information online, yet they still share passwords and engage in other risky behaviors.
The report also found that 34 per cent of people have at least
Chee Choon Hong, Norton by Symantec, Asia Consumer Business director
one unprotected device leaving their other devices vulnerable to ransomware, malicious websites, zero days and phishing attacks.
“The prevalence of cybercrime has merged with peoples’ perception of real-world risks. Many now see cybercrime dangers as equivalent to risks in the real world,” said Norton by Symantec.
However, it pointed out that many consumers still remain complacent when it comes to protecting their personal information online with millennials exhibiting surprisingly slack online security habits such as sharing passwords that compromise their online safety (31 per cent), and other reckless behaviours.
“With every connected home device purchased, consumers are unknowingly giving hackers a new avenue to launch attacks. In some instances, poor consumer security habits and vulnerabilities in connected devices are letting hackers into consumers’ homes,” it said.
Over seven in 10 (72 per cent) consumers said they believed connected home devices were designed with online security in mind.
However, Symantec researchers identified security vulnerabilities in 50 different connected home devices ranging from smart thermostats to smart hubs that could make the devices easy targets for attacks.
In Malaysia, Symantec revealed that more than one in five (22 per cent) of Malaysians know someone who had experienced cybercrime while six per cent of the victims had experienced the attack themselves, indicating the steady rise of this menace.
Out of this number, 24 per cent of these victims actually paid the ransom to gain access to their files. Proving that paying the ransom is no guarantee, 13 per cent victims paid ransom, but could not retrieve their files.
“Just as we don’t leave our front door open when we head out on vacation, we shouldn’t leave our information vulnerable online,” it advised.
Some of the steps that should be taken to enhance your cyber security include; avoid password promiscuity by using strong, unique passwords that use a combination of at least 10 upper and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers.
Aside from that, it urged users to avoid opening unsolicited messages or attachments, particularly from unknown sources.
“When installing a new network-connected device, such as a router or smart thermostat, remember to change the default password. If you don’t plan on using the Internet feature(s), such as with smart appliances, disable or protect remote access when not needed.
“Also, protect your wireless connections with strong Wi-Fi encryption so no one can easily view the data traveling between your devices,” it added.
Besides that, Symantec pointed out that users should be in control when online and know the ins and out of public Wi-Fi networks.