Hackers Hone their Skills While Singapore Consumers Remain Complacent

Hackers Hone their Skills While Singapore
Consumers Remain Complacent

·         Norton Cyber Security Insights Report Finds
Recent Cybercrime Victims Most Likely to Repeat Risky Behaviors

·         Consumers are Letting Hackers Sneak into their
Homes Through Connected Devices

SINGAPORE – November 16, 2016 – Norton by Symantec (NASDAQ: SYMC),
today released Singapore findings from the annual Norton Cyber Security
Insights Report, which sheds light on the truth about online crime and the
personal effect it has on consumers. The most common cybercrime consumers
experienced was account password compromised (20 percent), followed by email
hack (19 percent) and credit card fraud (14 percent).

The report also found that consumers who were
victims of cybercrime within the past year often continued their unsafe
behavior. For example, while the victims were just as likely to use a password
on every account, they were more than twice as likely to share their password
with others, negating their efforts.

Furthermore, given the rampant rate of
cybercrime, the complacency in consumer behavior is concerning. In Singapore,
among those with at least one unprotected device, almost one in three (27
percent) said they don’t need protection because they don’t do anything “risky”
online. Interestingly, 76 percent of consumers know they must actively protect
their information online, yet they are still sharing passwords and engaging in
other risky behaviors. 41 percent of people have at least one unprotected
device leaving their other devices vulnerable to ransomware, malicious
websites, zero days and phishing attacks.

“Our findings show that people are growing
increasingly aware of the need to protect their personal information online,
but aren’t motivated to take adequate precautions to stay safe,” said Gavin
Lowth, Vice President, Norton Consumer and Small Business, Asia Pacific and
Japan. “While consumers remain complacent, hackers are refining their skills
and adapting their scams to further take advantage of people, making the need
for Singapore consumers to take some action increasingly important.”

Consumers Admit the
Risks Are Real 

The prevalence of
cybercrime has merged with peoples’ perception of real-world risks. Many now
see cybercrime dangers as equivalent to risks in the real world.

·         Over half of consumers (65 percent) said that
over the past five years, it has become harder to stay safe online.

·         Over six in 10 (64 percent) said they believe entering
financial information online when connected to public Wi-Fi is riskier
than reading their credit or debit card number aloud in a public place
(36 percent).

·         More consumers believe that it is
riskier to open an attachment from an unknown sender (56 percent) than to
open their door for a stranger (44 percent).

Bad Habits Are Hard to
Break – Online or Otherwise

Experiencing
cybercrime is a potential consequence of living in a connected world, but
consumers still remain complacent when it comes to protecting their personal
information online.

·         Millennials exhibit surprisingly slack online
security habits, and are happy to share passwords that compromise their online
safety (36 percent).
This is likely why three in 10 millennials have experienced cybercrime in the
past year.

·         Nearly one in three (27 percent) of consumers connect to a Wi-Fi network using
VPN regularly; others can
potentially allow a hacker to steal data as it travels on the network. 

·         Consumers are still willing to click on links
from senders they don’t know or open malicious attachments. When
presented with a fraudulent and legitimate email, one in four (26 percent) cannot
identify a phishing email. 

·         Most Singapore consumers (92 percent) use
public Wi-Fi connections,
yet only 44 percent think they know how to determine whether the Wi-Fi network
they are using is secure.

·         Thinking about cyber security doesn’t mean
you’re secure. People who experienced cybercrime within the past year were
as likely to be concerned about the security of their home Wi-Fi network (71
percent vs. 68 percent non-victims). However, the victims are less
likely to password protect their home Wi-Fi network than non-victims (24
percent vs. 11 percent of non-victims have unprotected networks).

Overconfidence in
Connected Devices Leaves Consumers Vulnerable

With every connected
home device purchased, consumers are unknowingly giving hackers a new avenue to
launch attacks. In some instances, poor consumer security habits and
vulnerabilities in connected devices are letting hackers into consumers’ homes. 

·  More than two in five (42 percent) used
the default password issued by their provider when setting up their
Wi-Fi and have not changed it since.

·         Nearly half (49 percent) of consumers surveyed don’t
believe there are enough connected device users for it to be a
worthwhile target for hackers. Yet, 78 percent believe that just as hackers
learnt to benefit from targeting social media and financial accounts, they are
on their way to learning how accessing connected home devices can be lucrative. 

·         Six in 10 (60 percent) consumers said
they believe connected home devices were designed with online security in mind.
Contrary to what Singaporeans believe, Symantec researchers identified security vulnerabilities in 50
different connected home devices ranging from smart thermostats to smart hubs that could make the
devices easy targets for attacks. 

Norton Top Tips to Stay Safe Online:

Just as we don’t leave
our front door open when we head out on vacation, we shouldn’t leave our
information vulnerable online. By adopting a few basic behaviors,
we can make big strides in mitigating cybercrime risk:

·         Avoid password promiscuity: Protect
your accounts with strong, unique passwords that use a combination of at least
10 upper and lowercase letters, symbols and numbers to help keep the bad guys
at bay. Make it difficult for attackers to access your information by changing
your passwords every three months and not reusing passwords for multiple
accounts. That way, if a cybercriminal gets your password, they can’t compromise
all of your accounts. And if it’s too overwhelming to keep up this practice,
use a password manager to help!

·         Don’t go on a phishing expedition: Think twice before opening unsolicited messages or
attachments, particularly from people you don’t know, or clicking on random
links. The message may be from a cybercriminal who has compromised your friend
or family member’s email or social media accounts.

·         Don’t keep a (dis)connected home: When installing a new network-connected device, such as a
router or smart thermostat, remember to change the default password. If you
don’t plan on using the Internet feature(s), such as with smart appliances,
disable or protect remote access when not needed. Also, protect your wireless
connections with strong Wi-Fi encryption so no one can easily view the data
traveling between your devices.

·         Be in control when online: Entrust
your devices to security software to help protect you against the latest
threats. Protect all your devices with a robust, multi-platform solution, like Norton Security.

·         Know the ins and out of public Wi-Fi networks: Accessing personal information on unprotected public Wi-Fi
is like broadcasting your entire screen on TV – everything you do on a website
or through an app, could potentially be exposed. Avoid anything that involves
sharing your personal information (paying a bill online, logging in to social
media accounts, paying for anything with a credit card, etc.).