Do you know how safe – or unsafe – it currently is online? How many people run the risk of falling victim to cybercriminals today, without suspecting it? And how many have fallen victim already? To assess this situation, Kaspersky Lab is launching its Kaspersky Cybersecurity Index – the first global index to measure the current cyber-threat levels faced by Internet users.
The Cybersecurity Index (which is described as 21 per cent–29 per cent–60 per cent) is formed from a detailed survey carried out in August 2016, in 21 countries across the globe. According to the data, only one-in-five users (21 per cent) currently believe he or she is threatened by anything online. At the same time, almost one third of users (29 per cent) have fallen victim to cybercriminal schemes (for example, eight per cent have had their accounts hijacked and 22 per cent have had their devices infected by malware). However, only 60 per cent of users have installed security solutions on all the devices they use to access the Internet. The Index demonstrates that, today, many users underestimate cyber-threats even after facing them. This attitude inevitably affects their security.
In order to obtain the data used to create the index, Kaspersky Lab joined forces with B2B International to carry out regular large-scale online surveys in different countries, in order to evaluate how Internet users behave online, what their concerns are, what issues they face and how they defend themselves against possible threats. The Kaspersky Cybersecurity Index is based on this data.
The index combines three key indicators, which are measured every six months and which provide the information needed to monitor the degree of risk to the average Internet user.
- The Concerned Indicatorshows the percentage of people who believe they may be targeted by a cyber-attack. This indicator shows the degree to which users realise the danger to which they are exposed.
- The Affected Indicatoridentifies how many people have actually fallen victim to cyber-attacks during the reporting period – e.g., have faced data leakage or extortion online.
- The Protected Indicatorshows the number of users who have installed a security solution on the device they use to access the Internet. This is the average figure for all of the devices used, including computers and mobile devices.
“We created the Index to draw the attention of users, the media and vendors to the issue of cybersecurity. Many users today, we believe, do not expect to come face-to-face with cyber-threats, so they fail to install security solutions on their devices and behave carelessly online. This makes them easy targets for cybercriminals. The Index reflects the results of this approach. Today, 29 per cent of people have been affected by online threats. We are calling on all Internet users to improve their cyber-savviness and adopt a responsible approach, both for their own protection, and to that of their loved ones. Security, we believe, must be shared,” believes Andrei Mochola, Head of Consumer Business at Kaspersky Lab.
To learn more about the index, view its indicators for different countries, ages and genders, and to find out more about the behavior of users online, please visit http://index.kaspersky.com(currently in English only). More advice on behaving securely online can be found here: https://blog.kaspersky.com/tag/cybersavvy.
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