As we become walking zeroes and ones, we are becoming increasingly vulnerable, says a cyber firm that in a survey has found 41pc of UK respondents think that businesses should do more to protect their personal data, including passwords, addresses and bank account details, from hacking.
One-in-ten (12pc) respondents in the UK have been so concerned by a high-profile data breach that they have shut down one or more of their social media accounts in response. One in five (21pc) would even fear losing their job as a result of a secret being revealed.
A study from Kaspersky Lab has shown that whilst people fear the loss of their digital privacy, they also expect more from businesses and the government to protect it. More than two-fifths (41pc) of those surveyed, think that businesses should do more to protect their personal data from hacking, whilst over a quarter think that there is currently not enough state support in regard to data security and cyber-protection.
Whether it is a password, bank account details or a series of photos taken at university, everyone has a multitude of secrets that they need to keep safe. Over one-in-ten (12pc) respondents in the UK have actually been so concerned by a high-profile data breach that they have shut down one or more of their social media accounts in response.
However, despite the prevalence of these seemingly daily data breaches, less than a third (34pc) of respondents say they have strengthened their passwords. Under half (43pc) admit to having up-to-date security protection on all their devices.
David Emm, Principal Security Researcher at Kaspersky Lab, pictured, said: “We have become a society built upon digital secrets, with those secrets becoming commoditised and traded on the dark web. There is more that businesses can and should do to help protect their customers – including security solutions that significantly mitigate the risk of a successful attack on their systems, running fully updated software, performing regular security audits, performing penetration testing and ensuring that customer data is secure. However, there is also much that consumers can do to protect themselves. That includes strengthening their passwords and protecting all their devices.”
Methodology
The research was for Kaspersky Lab by Arlington Research using an online survey of 2,000 nationally representative adults in the UK and 2,000 nationally representative adults in Germany. Nationally representative quotas were set for gender, age and region. For a full breakdown of the results click here.
