Device users, who fell victim to cybercrime within the past one year, often continue with their unsafe behaviour oblivious of the risks like sharing passwords or leaving their devices unprotected, a report by software security firm Norton says.
The annual Norton Cyber Security Insights Report found about 18 per cent respondents from India saying they have at least one unprotected device, leaving their other devices vulnerable to ransomware, malicious websites, zero days and phishing attacks.
About 79 per cent respondents said they know they must actively protect their information online, but they still share passwords and engage in other risky behaviour.
"While quoting various reasons for not protecting their devices, 36 per cent said they don't do anything 'risky' online, and 23 per cent believed security measures would slow them down," Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager at Norton by Symantec, said.
He added that while people are increasingly growing aware of the need to protect their personal information online, they aren't motivated yet to take adequate precautions to stay safe, he added.
"While consumers remain complacent, hackers are refining their skills and adapting their scams to further take advantage of people, making the need for consumers to take some action increasingly important," he said.
The report is based on an online survey of 20,907 device users aged over 18, across 21 markets. This includes input from 1,028 Indians.
About 64 per cent of the respondents admitted that it has become harder to stay safe online over the past five years.
However, millennials exhibit surprisingly slack online security habits and are happy to share passwords that compromise their online safety (34 per cent). Many consumers are still willing to click on links from senders they don't know or open malicious attachments.
"This is likely why they remain the most common victims of cybercrime, with 55 per cent having experienced cybercrime in the past year," the report said.
Such risky behaviour has led to a rise in cybercrime. One in three (33 per cent) respondents said they have either experienced ransomware themselves or know someone who has.
"Cybercrime isn't going away and consumers must reject complacency to adequately protect themselves. By adopting a few basic behaviours, we can make big strides in mitigating cybercrime risk," Chopra said.
The report also found a growing fondness for Wi-Fi but highlighted that people often underestimate the accompanied risks.
As expected, people who experienced cybercrime within the
past year emerged more likely to be concerned about the security of their home Wi-Fi network -- 79 per cent vs 70 per cent non-victims.
However, the victims were less likely to password protect their home Wi-Fi network than non-victims at 28 per cent vs 10 per cent of non-victims saying they have unprotected networks.
"Only 56 per cent of consumers knew how to determine whether the Wi-Fi network they are using is secure. This is of concern, especially since 22 per cent of respondents agreed to have used their neighbour's Wi-Fi network without their permission," Chopra said.
Additionally, when it comes to public Wi-Fi, one in four (27 per cent) regularly use public Wi-Fi connections available at airports, coffee shops, etc, he added.
Despite half the respondents believing they could have their identity stolen after entering account/personal details on public Wi-Fi, they are still willing to engage in actions like answering a survey question (58 per cent), installing a third-party app (35 per cent), provide access to files while online (21 per cent) or even turning off security software (19 per cent), the report said.
Chopra said users should use different passwords with a mix of lowercase and uppercase characters for different accounts. Besides, they should also think twice before clicking on random links and be careful of messages that may be from a cybercriminal who has compromised a friend's email or social media accounts.
He added that users should backup important data regularly, change default passwords on devices like routers and avoid sharing passwords.
