A new global survey found that nearly half of respondents have been the victim of a cyberattack or scam.
In a survey conducted among 20,000 working adults around the world, 45% reported that their personal data, such as banking or email account information, had been leaked through a hacking attempt or scam.
In fact, nearly half of people admit they deal with cyber threats reactively, rather than proactively protecting against them, both in their personal lives (45%) and at work (44%).
And according to respondents, online scams and phishing attempts have become more sophisticated (72%) and successful (66%) thanks to artificial intelligence.
On the occasion of Cyber Security Awareness Month in October, Yubico The global survey was conducted with respondents from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, India, Japan, Poland, Singapore, France, Germany, and Sweden to examine the global impact of cyber insecurity in both the individual and corporate sectors.
Half of the respondents (50%) revealed that they had suffered a cyberattack at work in the past year. Not even a quarter of them (23%) said that the company they work for has responded to the need for cybersecurity training in the future.
Of those whose personal data has been hacked, 20% reported that a cyber attacker has successfully hacked one or more of their personal accounts, including bank or email accounts.
Highlighting the layered impact of successful hacks and scams, 22% of people have lost money as a result and 30% said they doubt their personal information will ever be secure.
And for the 50% of respondents whose personal passwords were exposed due to a hack or data leak, the most commonly compromised passwords were those securing social media accounts (44%).
So why are these hacking attempts so successful?
The research found that 39% of people believe that using only a username and password is the safest way to protect accounts and information.
In fact, it is the most frequently used method of account security by respondents.
“While passwords have long been the easiest way to log into accounts and secure information, they are inherently insecure,” said Derek Hanson, vice president of standards and alliances at Yubico. “People tend to reuse passwords across multiple accounts and use weak passwords, which allows hackers to break into multiple accounts with a single login. Additionally, due to the sophistication of today's phishing attacks, people are often tricked into sharing their passwords. Using usernames and passwords to protect accounts and information is the least secure method of data protection.”
Despite this, for those reporting cyberattacks at work, the most common way to “re-secure” information was to reset usernames and passwords for company accounts (30%).
And 20% reported that the company they work for updates its technology and security policies only “as needed.”
Worryingly, given the lack of up-to-date cybersecurity protocols in the workplace, respondents reported that measures taken to protect information at work are stronger than those taken to protect their personal information (70% vs. 63%).
Yubico/SWNS
Given this, it is no surprise that for respondents across the globe, hacking of their personal accounts (24%) is the biggest cybersecurity fear that keeps them up at night.
“According to the findings, people think their data is secure. However, the survey results prove the opposite,” Hanson said. “And worse, many people have been successfully hacked and scammed on various platforms. Nearly half of those who have been hacked have had their social media accounts compromised. And while that's significant in itself, it's particularly worrisome because social media accounts often contain sensitive data, such as credit card information and communications with friends and family. We encourage everyone, both companies and individuals, to re-examine their data security and adopt more secure measures, such as multi-factor authentication, whenever possible.”
Commonly leaked personal passwords
Social media account passwords – 44%
Payment app passwords – 24%
Online retailer account password – 21%
Messaging app passwords – 17%
Banking app passwords – 13%
Video streaming service passwords – 12%
Insurance Account Password – 7%
Medical patient portal password – 6%
Survey Methodology:
Tocker Research surveyed 2,000 working adults from each of the following countries: United States, United Kingdom, Australia, India, Japan, Poland, Singapore, France, Germany, and Sweden; the survey was conducted by Yubico and administered and conducted online by Tocker Research between July 22 and August 12, 2024.
