{"id":111570,"date":"2019-11-16T11:41:43","date_gmt":"2019-11-16T16:41:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/"},"modified":"2021-08-19T14:39:02","modified_gmt":"2021-08-19T18:39:02","slug":"why-dont-users-protect-themselves","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/rbach.net\/index.php\/why-dont-users-protect-themselves\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Don’t Users Protect Themselves"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Why<\/a>A new report (PDF) from recently swallowed<\/a> and swallowed again<\/a> Webroot<\/a>, says that American technology users overestimate their levels of cyber hygiene<\/strong>. Cyber hygiene is a cybersecurity risk mitigation<\/strong> technique introduced by Vinton Cerf<\/a> in 2000<\/a> where you train yourself to think proactively about your cybersecurity. The goal is to resist cyber threats and online security issues to protect and maintain IT systems and devices and implement cybersecurity best practices, just as you do with your daily personal hygiene.<\/p>\n

\"Webroot<\/a>The report says U.S. users do not know how to protect themselves from cyber threats. Americans are overconfident in the perceived protection they have<\/strong>. The endpoint security and threat intelligence provider found that 88% of interviewed Americans believe they are taking the appropriate steps to protect themselves from cyber-attacks.<\/p>\n

Their confidence is misplaced<\/strong>. Instead, Americans have only a surface-level understanding of the most common types of cyber threats according to Webroot. We can recognize some of the names of the most common cyber-attacks such as malware (79%) or phishing (70%), but for most, that\u2019s where their knowledge ends. Very few (less than 1 in 3) actually know what these common cyber-attacks are or what they do.<\/p>\n

While Americans claim to have heard of some of the most common cyber-attack terms when prompted, very few actually understand what those cyber-attacks are<\/strong>. When asked about critical cyber-hygiene issues like malware, backups passwords, and identity theft surveyed Americans reported<\/strong>:<\/p>\n

\"20%<\/a>Malware<\/strong> – 79% have heard of malware, but only 28% can confidently explain what it is. 82% are using some sort of AV software on their personal devices. 62% of those who use AV software use a free product. Only 20% update their AV software<\/strong> each time they are prompted.<\/p>\n

Backups –<\/strong> are another weakness. 78% of respondents report backing up their data. However, 57% are still leaving themselves susceptible to risk by only backing up using one method, rather than backing up online (cloud) and offline.<\/p>\n