Cyber security: Incidents are multiplying

Cyber security incidents are multiplying from year to year despite the measures being taken. Almost a quarter (24%) of respondents to a global study claim to have experienced one or more security incidents in the past 12 months, and of these, 37% in the 16-24 age group say that were targeted by a computer attack, according to Bitdefender. On the other hand, only 11% of respondents over 55 claim that they have faced a security incident. This aspect must also be correlated with a person's ability to recognize or not a scam, as he gets older and does not exclude the possibility of having faced such attacks, draws the attention of the global manufacturer of IT security solutions. SMS scams are the most common threat used by hackers, so fraudulent messages remain at the top of the list of security incidents, with 45% of respondents affected by these attacks, followed by fraud attempts (44%), phishing attacks by email (42%), exposure of personal data (27%), infection with a virus (18%) and doxxing (9%). Among these types of attacks, women say they have most experienced text message scams, unlike men (51% versus 38%), as well as the exposure of personal information following a security breach (30% versus 2. 3%). On the other hand, men were more targeted by phishing attacks (43% versus 41%) and computer threats (20% versus 13%).

At the same time, most of the respondents (76%) believe that they are not a target for cybercriminals. "This point of view is correct, but it can lead to improper cyber security management practices, as threat actors do not target a specific person, but rather seek to take advantage of vulnerable systems and exploit user inattention," the source says cited. Thus, according to the data from the study, password management is a key vulnerability among users. For cybercriminals, obtaining credentials has always been a goal, and the way users manage their password security raises an alarm. Over a third of those interviewed (37%) write down their passwords, and 34% of them use the same password for two or more accounts. Also, 17% of users use the automatic data completion function provided by the search engine, and 14% rely on the password saving function of the operating systems. At the same time, only 23% of respondents say they use a password management service, a recommended practice for increasing IT security. In the context of an increasingly digital lifestyle, over a third of those interviewed (35%) claim that they manage between six and ten online accounts, whether for shopping, social media, banking and leisure activities. The study was commissioned by Bitdefender by Censuswide on a sample of over 7,000 users aged 16 to over 55.