Cyber crime: China, India most affected nations

BANGALORE, INDIA: Two-thirds (65 percent) of Internet users globally, and over three-quarters (76 percent) of Indian web surfers have fallen victim to cybercrimes, including computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft, a new study released today from security software maker Norton reveals.

The figures make India one of the most victimized nations, second behind China.

'The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact' shines a light on the personal toll cybercrime takes. The first study to examine the emotional impact of cybercrime, it shows that victims’ strongest reactions are feeling angry (58 percent), cheated (51 percent) and annoyed/upset (46 percent), and in many cases, they blame themselves (88 percent) for being attacked. Only 8 percent of Indians don’t think it will happen to them, and nearly 6 in 10 do not expect cybercriminals to be brought to justice– resulting in an ironic reluctance to take action and a sense of helplessness.

Cyber crimes are silently suffered by a majority of victims. People feel helpless and just accept a situation, said  Essendy Ibrahim, Internet Safety Advocate, Symantec Asia.

David Hall, Regional Consumer Product Marketing Manager, Symantec Asia Pacfic said despite the emotional burden, the universal threat, and incidents of cybercrime, people still aren’t changing their behaviors - with only three in five (59 percent) of adults in India saying they would change their behavior if they became a victim. Even scarier, just over a third (37 percent) reported the crime to the police.

According to the report, it takes an average of 44 days to resolve a cybercrime in India, and the average cost to resolve that crime is Rs 5,262. The biggest hassle respondents in India faced when dealing with cybercrime was the general feeling of stress, anger or embarrassment (20 percent) followed by the loss of irreplaceable data or items of sentimental value (19 percent).

Also read: Security Trends 2010

But despite the hassle, reporting a cybercrime is critical. A vast number of bank consumers pay for cybercrime, either directly or through pass-along costs from our financial institutions. Cybercriminals purposely steal small amounts to remain undetected, but all of these add up, Hall said adding that many victims may not even aware that they are on the radar of cyber criminals.

The “human impact” aspect of the report delves further into the little crimes or white lies consumers perpetrate against friends, family, loved ones and businesses. Nearly half of respondents think it’s legal to download a single music track, album or movie without paying. Twenty-four percent believe it’s legal or perfectly okay to secretly view someone else’s e-mails or browser history.  Some of these behaviors, such as downloading files, open people up to additional security threats.

But there are simple steps people can take to protect themselves, according to the report. “People resist protecting themselves and their computers because they think it’s too complicated,” Anne Collier, co-director of ConnectSafely and editor of NetFamilyNews, who collaborated with Norton on the study. “But everyone can take simple steps, such as having up-to-date, comprehensive security software in place. In the case of online crime, an ounce of prevention is worth a ton of cure.”