The Market Monitor Minding the Nation's Business
The relationship between people and their digital devices is often closer than between best friends, a recent study by security-software company Kaspersky Lab and business-to-business market-research firm B2B International has found.
According to the study, 29 percent of users take their devices into the bathroom and 25 percent share secrets with their devices that they don’t want anyone else to know.
But this trust in devices, Kaspersky Lab said in a statement, could be putting users at risk, as these can be hacked and the private information found in them can be made public.
The study also found that 87 percent store important, confidential and sometimes irreplaceable information on their smartphones, including passwords, messages, photos, contacts and files.
One in four users says his or her device carries sensitive information that he or she wouldn’t want anyone else to see.
Also, these devices are carried and used everywhere, including at work (52 percent), in a car (41 percent), on public transportation (39 percent) and in bed (58 percent).
Outside the home, these devices face potential risks that include not only damage, loss and theft, but also hacking by cybercriminals intent on stealing data or even spying on the user. Devices that are used on open wireless-fidelity (Wi-Fi) Internet networks are particularly vulnerable.
However, Kaspersky Lab noted, few people take action to reduce their risk. The study found that just 26 percent of users conduct their online activities on an insecure public Wi-Fi network, despite that hackers can easily intercept data and passwords.
Only 47 percent take advantage of the security features that come with the device, such as remote blocks or find-my-device capability.
The impact of not protecting the devices people carry with them can be far-reaching. According to the study, a quarter of those whose device had been lost or stolen discovered that personal or secret information had been leaked.
However, it doesn’t follow that users are automatically more secure once they’re home. Here, they face different and sometimes greater risks, particularly in sensitive places, such as bedrooms and bathrooms, when a hacked device could easily turn the webcam on the user.
“The bond of trust between users and their devices can lead them to forget about security. It’s hard to imagine that something we carry close to us at all times and turn to for everything, could ever become a threat. But it can, and does happen. A digital friend can become a digital frenemy,” said Victor Yablokov, head of the mobile product line at Kaspersky Lab.
“A failure to appreciate the potential risks and to protect our devices and information accordingly could mean the loss of confidential information, money and even our identities,” he added.
“The device camera that we use to look out onto the world can be hacked and used to look into our world instead. Security is simply not an optional extra,” Yablokov warned.
To ensure a digital friend doesn’t become a digital frenemy, Kaspersky Lab recommends that people always set strong passwords for devices and for their online accounts, install a trusted security software and take caution when accessing websites and downloading apps, particularly on insecure Wi-Fi networks.
To check if your online behavior is safe, visit blog.kaspersky.com/cyber-savvy-quiz. To get more tips on how to be protected, visit blog.kaspersky.com/tag/cybersavvy.
