Study finds Singapore's cybercrime complacency alarming

Over 7 in 10 share passwords and engage in other risky behaviours.

Norton by Symantec released Singapore findings from the annual Norton Cyber Security Insights Report, which sheds light on the truth about online crime and the personal effect it has on consumers.

The most common cybercrime consumers experienced, it said, was account password compromised (20%), followed by email hack (19%) and credit card fraud (%).

The report also found that consumers who were victims of cybercrime within the past year often continued their unsafe behavior. For example, while the victims were just as likely to use a password on every account, they were more than twice as likely to share their password with others, negating their efforts.

Furthermore, given the rampant rate of cybercrime, the complacency in consumer behavior is concerning.

In Singapore, among those with at least one unprotected device, almost one in three (27%) said they don’t need protection because they don’t do anything “risky” online.

Interestingly, 76% of consumers know they must actively protect their information online, yet they are still sharing passwords and engaging in other risky behaviors. 41% of people have at least one unprotected device leaving their other devices vulnerable to ransomware, malicious websites, zero days and phishing attacks.

“Our findings show that people are growing increasingly aware of the need to protect their personal information online, but aren’t motivated to take adequate precautions to stay safe,” said Gavin Lowth, Vice President, Norton Consumer and Small Business, Asia Pacific and Japan. “While consumers remain complacent, hackers are refining their skills and adapting their scams to further take advantage of people, making the need for Singapore consumers to take some action increasingly important.”