By this point it has become pretty clear that there is a major cybersecurity crisis playing out around the world. With all of that having been said and now out of the way, it is important to note that people don’t seem to be taking this information all that seriously. This inference comes from data published by the National Cybersecurity Alliance in a recent report, and it is based on a survey of around 2,000 people that the organization conducted.
One of the worst things about the information that was collected had to do with password hygiene. It turns out that only about 46% of respondents practice password hygiene in a truly proper manner. That basically entails using different passwords for the various accounts that you might have out there, and it is a truly essential aspect of keeping yourself safe from cyberattacks because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up preventing all of your accounts being accessed in a situation where one of them has been compromised.
If a malicious actor gets their hands on your login details for one account, they would be able to access all of your other accounts as well if they share the same password. Hence, it is crucial to keep different passwords at least for some of the more important accounts that you might have out there. 20% of respondents said that they never do this, which means that they are at risk of suffering from a really serious cyberattack if this is not rectified as soon as it possibly can be.
Another concerning statistic that one can notice is the fact that only 43% of respondents said that they took the time to come up with a password that was long and unique. This means that a majority of people might have a short password that is easy to guess, and with brute force tactics a malicious actor might just end up uncovering the password in a very short period of time. This increases the likelihood that their account could end up being compromised.
A truly bizarre statistic that came about as a result of this survey was that 48% of respondents didn’t even know what two factor authentication was. This is very worrying indeed since two factor authentication is one of the most valuable ways in which you could end up defending yourself from any kind of online attack. If a malicious actor gets their hands on your password and puts it in, they would still not be able to access your account if you have two factor authentication activated due to the reason that they would need a special passcode that would be sent to your phone.
Finally, software updates seem to be a big issue as well. It is really important to keep your software updated with all things having been considered and taken into account. Tech companies often plug holes that malicious actors might have previously exploited so staying updated is really essential, but despite this 31% of respondents said that they don’t keep their software as updated as it needs to be. All of this information might make it understandable if there is an even bigger increase in cyber attacks down the line.
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One of the worst things about the information that was collected had to do with password hygiene. It turns out that only about 46% of respondents practice password hygiene in a truly proper manner. That basically entails using different passwords for the various accounts that you might have out there, and it is a truly essential aspect of keeping yourself safe from cyberattacks because of the fact that this is the sort of thing that could potentially end up preventing all of your accounts being accessed in a situation where one of them has been compromised.
If a malicious actor gets their hands on your login details for one account, they would be able to access all of your other accounts as well if they share the same password. Hence, it is crucial to keep different passwords at least for some of the more important accounts that you might have out there. 20% of respondents said that they never do this, which means that they are at risk of suffering from a really serious cyberattack if this is not rectified as soon as it possibly can be.
Another concerning statistic that one can notice is the fact that only 43% of respondents said that they took the time to come up with a password that was long and unique. This means that a majority of people might have a short password that is easy to guess, and with brute force tactics a malicious actor might just end up uncovering the password in a very short period of time. This increases the likelihood that their account could end up being compromised.
A truly bizarre statistic that came about as a result of this survey was that 48% of respondents didn’t even know what two factor authentication was. This is very worrying indeed since two factor authentication is one of the most valuable ways in which you could end up defending yourself from any kind of online attack. If a malicious actor gets their hands on your password and puts it in, they would still not be able to access your account if you have two factor authentication activated due to the reason that they would need a special passcode that would be sent to your phone.
Finally, software updates seem to be a big issue as well. It is really important to keep your software updated with all things having been considered and taken into account. Tech companies often plug holes that malicious actors might have previously exploited so staying updated is really essential, but despite this 31% of respondents said that they don’t keep their software as updated as it needs to be. All of this information might make it understandable if there is an even bigger increase in cyber attacks down the line.