Half of European web users failing to protect themselves

Despite the growing influence of cyber crime forcing entire corporations to regularlyswitch up their security strategies, the average European webuseris choosing to completely ignore the threat posed. This is according to statistics from Eurobarometer. Researchers commissioned by the Public Opinion Analysis sector found that out of the 27,000 webusers polled, 53 per centhad not changed their passwords in the last year. However,what seemsmore baffling is that 74per centbelievetherisk ofcyber crime has increased during this same period. Furthermore, only one quarterof those surveyedclaimed to use different passwordswhen logging intonumerous websites. In failing to do this, the remainderareleaving themselvesvulnerable to attacks, but researchers also discovered that only 51 per cent were able to fend off a virus or bug with their anti-virus software. This indicates thatjust under halfofEuropemay not possess any form of anti-virus software, in an onlineworld where thousands of new pieces of malware are discovered each day. Although a number of households may therefore have to fund a new PC in the near future, the damage could be more severe for companies who support Bring Your Own Device (BOYD) initiatives. This is due to the fact that should an infected or unprotectedsmartphone or tablet enter an IT management framework, the whole networkis immediately put at risk. Figures cited bypublicserviceeurope also revealed that 59 per cent said they were uneducated in cyber crime.In light of this,Cecilia Malmstrom, European homeaffair commissioner called on web users to seek protection to make best use of the internet. “Cyber criminals must not be allowed to disrupt our use of the internet.The more we know about the risks and how to protect ourselves, the more we can truly maximise our digital lives,” she told egovmonitor.com.