About
33 percent Indians have either experienced ransomware themselves or know
someone who has. Of those who have experienced ransomware, 83 percent of the
victims did so in the past one year alone, indicating a steady rise of this
menace. 27 percent of these victims actually paid the ransom to gain access to
their files, said the report on India finding announced by Norton by Symantec. The report which sheds light on the truth
about online crime said that in these kind of cases proving that paying the
ransom is no guarantee, 26 percent victims paid ransom, but could not retrieve
their files or data.
Addressing
the media, Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by Symantec says, “Cybercrime
isn’t going away and consumers must reject complacency to adequately protect
themselves. By adopting a few basic behaviours, we can make big strides in
mitigating cybercrime risk.” added Chopra.
In
2015, India was ranked way down at 12th place in ramsomware attacks
this year has moved up to number 4 position globally in the number of attacks.
Likewise, among Asia countries, India remain at number 2 position for the
number of ransomware attacks.
As a
starting point, Norton recommends the following best practices:
Avoid
Password Promiscuity: Protect your accounts with strong, unique passwords that
use a combination of at least 10 upper and lowercase letters, symbols and
numbers to help keep the bad guys at bay. Make it difficult for attackers to
access your information by changing your passwords every three months and not
reusing passwords for multiple accounts. That way, if a cybercriminal gets your
password, they can’t compromise all of your accounts. And if it’s too
overwhelming to keep up this practice, use a password manager to help!
Don’t
Go On a Phishing Expedition: Think twice before opening unsolicited messages or
attachments, particularly from people you don’t know, or clicking on random
links. The message may be from a cybercriminal who has compromised your friend
or family member’s email or social media accounts.
Do
Not Pay the Ransom and Backup: Backing up important data is the single most
effective way of combating ransomware infection. Attackers have leverage over
their victims by encrypting valuable files and leaving them inaccessible. If
the victim has backup copies, they can restore their files once the infection
has been cleaned up.
Be
in Control When Online: Entrust your devices to security software to help
protect you against the latest threats. Protect all your devices with a robust,
multi-platform solution, like Norton Security.
Know
the Ins and Outs Of Public Wi-Fi Networks: Accessing personal information on
unprotected public Wi-Fi is like broadcasting your entire screen on TV –
everything you do on a website or through an app, could potentially be exposed.
Avoid anything that involves sharing your personal information (paying a bill
online, logging in to social media accounts, paying for anything with a credit
card, etc.)
Tidy
Your (Dis) Connected Home: When installing a new network-connected device, such
as a router or smart thermostat, remember to change the default password. If
you don’t plan on using the Internet feature(s), such as with smart appliances,
disable or protect remote access when not needed. Also, protect your wireless connections
with strong Wi-Fi encryption so no one can easily view the data traveling
between your devices.
Cybercrime
Continues Due To Unsafe Behaviour
Similarly, the report found that
consumers who were victims of cybercrime within the past year often continued
their unsafe behaviour. For example, while these consumers were equally likely
to use a password on every account, they were over twice as likely to share
their password with others, negating their efforts. Further, 79 percent of
consumers know they must actively protect their information online, but they
still share passwords and engage in other risky behaviour. Additionally, close
to one in five (18 percent) consumers have at least one unprotected device,
leaving their other devices vulnerable to ransomware, malicious websites, zero
days and phishing attacks. While quoting various reasons for not protecting
their devices, 36 percent said they don’t do anything “risky” online, and 23
percent believed security measures would slow them down.
“Our
findings show that people are increasingly growing aware of the need to protect
their personal information online, but aren’t motivated to take adequate
precautions to stay safe,” said Ritesh Chopra, Country Manager, Norton by
Symantec. “While consumers remain complacent, hackers are refining their skills
and adapting their scams to further take advantage of people, making the need
for consumers to take some action increasingly important.”
Indians Love Public
Wi-Fi but Underestimate the Accompanied Risks
Amongst
those surveyed, a vast majority (85 percent) of Indians have Wi-Fi in their
homes. Proving that thinking about cyber security doesn’t mean you’re secure,
people who experienced cybercrime within the past year were more likely to be
concerned about the security of their home Wi-Fi network (79 percent vs. 70 percent
non-victims), yet less likely to password protect their home Wi-Fi network than
non-victims (28 percent vs. 10 percent of non-victims have unprotected
networks).
Only
56 percent of consumers knew how to determine whether the Wi-Fi network they
are using is secure; this is of concern especially since 22 percent of
respondents agreed to have used their neighbour’s Wi-Fi network without their
permission. Additionally, when it comes to public Wi-Fi, one in four (27
percent) regularly use public Wi-Fi connections available at airports, coffee
shops, etc. Further:
•
Nearly two out of three consumers (59 percent) believe entering financial
information online when connected to public Wi-Fi is riskier than reading their
credit or debit card number aloud in a public place (41 percent).
• 70 percent say public Wi-Fi is useful for checking emails, sending documents,
and logging into accounts on the go, and 80 percent of the business travelers
agree.
• 45 percent of consumers connect to a Wi-Fi network using VPN regularly;
others can potentially allow a hacker to steal data as it travels on the
network.
• Despite half of respondents believing they are likely to have their identity
stolen after entering account or personal information on public Wi-Fi, in order
to gain access to public Wi-Fi consumers are willing to give in to actions such
as answering a survey question (58 percent), installing a third-party app (35
percent), provide access to files while online (21 percent) or even turning off
security software (19 percent).
