2017 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report Reveals Common Traits of
Cybercrime Victims
Company Website:
http://us.norton.com
MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. -- (Business Wire)
Consumers are confident they’re safe online, but hackers have proven
otherwise, stealing $172 billion from 978 million consumers in 20
countries in the past year, according to the 2017
Norton Cyber Security Insights Report, released today by Norton by
Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC).
Globally, cybercrime victims share a similar profile: they are everyday
consumers who use multiple devices whether at home or on the go, but
have a blind spot when it comes to cyber security basics. This group
tends to use the same password across multiple accounts or share it with
others. Equally concerning, 39 percent of global cybercrime victims
despite their experience, gained trust in their ability to protect their
data and personal information from future attacks and 33 percent believe
they had a low risk1 of becoming a cybercrime victim.
In the United States, 143 million consumers were victims of cybercrime –
more than half the U.S. adult online population. Losses totaled $19.4
billion and each victim lost an average of nearly 20 hours (19.8 hours)
dealing with the aftermath.
“Consumers’ actions revealed a dangerous disconnect: Despite a steady
stream of cybercrime sprees reported by media, too many people appear to
feel invincible and skip taking even basic precautions to protect
themselves,” said Fran Rosch, executive vice president, Consumer
Business Unit, Symantec. “This disconnect highlights the need for
consumer digital safety and the urgency for consumers to get back to
basics when it comes to doing their part to prevent cybercrime.”
Americans Embrace Cyber Security Safety Measures, but Leave Their
Virtual Door Unlocked
Consumers used device protection technologies such as fingerprint ID,
pattern matching and facial recognition, with45 percent using
fingerprint ID, 21 percent using pattern matching, 19 percent using a
personal VPN, 14 percent using voice ID, 16 percent using two-factor
authentication and 16 percent using facial recognition. However,
consumers who adopted these technologies often still practice poor
password hygiene and fell victim to cybercrime.
-
Consumers express confidence, but are more prone to attacks as they
protect newer and more devices. Forty-six percent of U.S. cybercrime
victims owned a smart device for streaming content, compared to about
one quarter of non-victims. They were also three times as likely to
own a connected home device.
-
Despite experiencing a cybercrime within the past year, nearly a
quarter of victims in the U.S. used the same online password across
all accounts and 60 percent shared their passwords for at least one
device or account with others, negating security efforts. By
comparison, only 17 percent of non-cybercrime victims reuse passwords
and 37 percent share their passwords with others. Additionally, 41
percent write their passwords down on a piece of paper and are almost
twice as likely to use different passwords and save their password to
a file on their computer/smartphone than non-victims.
Consumer Boundaries Skewed Between Cybercrime and “Real Life”
Eighty-one percent of U.S. consumers believe cybercrime should be
treated as a criminal act. However, when pressed, contradictions
emerged. Nearly one in four believe stealing information online was not
as bad as stealing property in ‘real life.’ When presented with examples
of cybercrime, 41 percent of consumers believed it’s sometimes
acceptable to commit morally questionable online behaviors in certain
instances, such as reading someone’s emails (28 percent), using a false
email or someone else's email to identify their self online (20 percent)
and even accessing someone’s financial accounts without their permission
(18 percent).
The State of Consumers’ Trust
Despite this year’s cyberattacks, Americans generally continue to trust
the institutions that manage their data and personal information.
However, they are not as trusting of some institutions and organizations.
- Consumers gained or maintained trust in organizations such as banks
and financial institutions (76 percent), and identity theft protection
service providers (71 percent) despite the attacks that made
headlines this year.
-
Alternatively, more than half of U.S. consumers (53 percent) lost
trust in their government to manage their data and personal
information within the past year. 39 percent lost trust in social
media platforms.
- More than one third (37 percent) of U.S. cybercrime victims gained
trust in themselves to manage their data and personal information.
To learn more about the real impact of cybercrime and how consumers can
protect their digital information, go here
for more information.
About the Norton Cyber Security Insights Report
The Norton Cyber Security Insights Report is an online survey of 21,549
individuals ages 18+ across 20 markets, commissioned by Norton by
Symantec and produced by research firm Reputation Leaders. The margin of
error for the total sample is +/-.7%. The U.S. sample reflects input
from 1,003 U.S. adults ages 18+. The margin of error is +/- 3.1% for the
total U.S. sample. Data was collected Oct. 5 – Oct. 24, 2017 by
Reputation Leaders.
How We Define Cybercrime
The definition of cybercrime continues to evolve as avenues open up that
allow cybercriminals to target consumers in new ways. Each year, we will
evaluate current cybercrime trends and update the report’s methodology
as needed, to ensure the Norton Cyber Security Insights Report provides
an accurate snapshot of the impact of cybercrime as it stands today. In
the 2017 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report, a cybercrime is defined
as, but not limited to, a number of specific actions, including identity
theft, credit card fraud or having your account password compromised.
For the purposes of this report, a cybercrime victim is a survey
respondent who confirmed one or more of these incidents took place.
Visit https://www.symantec.com/about/newsroom/press-kits
to learn more.
About Symantec
Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ: SYMC), the world’s leading cyber security
company, helps organizations, governments and people secure their most
important data wherever it lives. Organizations across the world look to
Symantec for strategic, integrated solutions to defend against
sophisticated attacks across endpoints, cloud and infrastructure.
Likewise, a global community of more than 50 million people and families
rely on Symantec’s Norton and LifeLock product suites to protect their
digital lives at home and across their devices. Symantec operates one of
the world’s largest civilian cyber intelligence networks, allowing it to
see and protect against the most advanced threats. For additional
information, please visit www.symantec.com
or connect with us on Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn.
1 Respondents’ attribution of cybercrime risk is based on
their personal beliefs and definition of cybercrime.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20180122006431/en/
Contacts:
Symantec Corporation
Spring Harris, 650-527-0742
Spring_Harris@symantec.com
or
Edelman
for Symantec
Jenn Foss, 503-471-6804
Jenn.Foss@edelman.com
Source: Symantec Corporation
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