Over half of consumers are more concerned about cyber security today than they were five years ago, however many still do not uphold this view in their behaviour.
McAfee’s latest study revealed that despite the growing concerns around cyber security, after the increased amount of attacks and breaches, there is still inconsistency between the concerns of consumers and their behaviours. Today 61% of consumers are more concerned about cyber security, but few have taken any action amid their concerns.
From the consumers McAfee surveyed a total of 37% have signed up for an identity theft protection solution, despite the risk of identity theft and fraud growing as well as cyber security concerns. This leaves almost three quarters of consumers failing to take proactive steps to protecting themselves – despite 33% ranking cyber security as their top priority.
“2017 was a big year for cybercriminals taking advantage of security holes in corporate networks and downloading lots of personally identifiable information about consumers, and there’s no sign of these attacks slowing down,” said Gary Davis, chief consumer security evangelist, McAfee.
Furthermore, just over a quarter (28%) admitted they had no plans whatsoever to sign up for a monitoring service that will help protect their identity and personal information, bringing confusion around the concerns consumers hold.
The study found that the most common ways consumers would ‘monitor’ their identity include checking online bank and credit card accounts for any unauthorised charges, with the majority choosing his option (67%). Other ways included checking for fraudulent posts on social media (43%) and using credit monitoring services (37%).
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Davis said: “It is now more important than ever for consumers to stay vigilant and take the necessary precautions to help safeguard their online identity and digital lives.”
McAfee included information on the best ways consumers can stay safe online, following the findings, protecting the information that is most important such as identity and card details. These guidelines included doing more research on products before buying them, using identity theft protection, keeping devices up to date and reviewing account information regularly.
