Online security: What's the awareness?

KUALA LAMPUR, MALAYSIA: How do computer users around the world view online security risks? A survey commissioned by F-Secure in Finland, Germany, Malaysia, Poland, Sweden, UK and United States reveals some interesting international variations in people’s experiences and perceptions of the threats.

Asked how concerned they are about their online privacy and data security, Germans (77 per cent) and Malaysians (73 per cent) express the most concern, while the Swedes (42 per cent) and Finns (36 per cent) appear to be the least concerned — or the most confident about their online life.

An average of 49 per cent of respondents across the seven countries say they have been hit by malware in the past 12 months, but their security software had notified them and prevented infection. The most malware hits are reported by Poland (70 per cent), Finland (60 per cent) and Malaysia (54 per cent), with Germany (32 per cent) reporting the lowest figure. Poland (14 per cent) and Malaysia (11 per cent) have the most respondents without any anti-virus protection on their computers which have been infected by malware.

Also read: Tools that can help protect data at End Points

Chia Wing Fei, senior manager, security response at F-Secure, says, “Germany seems to combine a high level of worry with a low level of exposure to the actual threats. Caution is good when surfing the web but being overly concerned may also prevent people from experiencing the full benefits of the Web. There is also a learning curve — as people become exposed to threats, they also learn how to deal with new situations and become more confident and less concerned. ”

International variation

The survey results also show that many computer users around the world are still unsure about security issues. For example, many people do not know if their computers have been infected in Sweden (38 per cent), United States (34 per cent), UK (33 per cent), and Germany (32 per cent).

There is also wide variation in how concerned people are about specific types of malware attacks. Germans (65 per cent) and Malaysians (59 per cent) are the most concerned about downloading malware from a website, compared to just 22 per cent of respondents in Finland. The risk of poisoned search results, which criminals use to lead people to malicious websites, is taken most seriously by the Germans (62 per cent) and the British (41 per cent).

According to the survey, credit card crime is the most prevalent in the United States, where 32 per cent of the respondents have personally experienced it or know someone who has been a victim. Malaysia (27 per cent) and UK (27 per cent) also report a relatively high level of credit card crime, while the lowest incidence is in Poland (11 per cent) and Finland (12 per cent).

Security terminology remains a mystery

An average of 7 per cent of respondents in the seven countries do not know what malicious code or malware is, with the highest scores occurring in the UK (12 per cent), United States (12 per cent) and Malaysia (9 per cent). A significant proportion of Americans (29 per cent) and the British (28 per cent) are not aware what poisoned search results are. Rogue ware, such as the bogus security products that take computers hostage and fool people into making payments to remove fictitious malware, is a term only understood in Sweden and Poland.