Internet safety – and online survey
2015 was an exciting year for anyone interested in online security with numerous headline-grabbing hacks that demonstrated just how unprepared many companies were when it came to protecting their systems and data.
Broadband ISP TalkTalk suffered a much publicised intrusion by teenage hackers which threatened the private details of millions of users. VTech, makers of edutainment gadgets for kids, were hit by a data breach that exposed information about its young users. And perhaps most notoriously the dating site Ashley Madison had its database stolen and leaked online, something which not only led to a great deal of embarrassment for people caught up in it but which was even implicated in suicides.
How safe do you feel online?
In October Broadband Genie published the results of a survey which examined how people felt about the state of online security and how it impacted their opinion of the companies caught up in these attacks.
One positive finding was that the vast majority of internet users have some kind of security software, with 80% saying they have anti-virus and 53% using some kind of anti-spyware tool. It’s important for everyone to take responsibility for securing their devices and data, and a robust set of protective tools is definitely helpful. 54% of respondents to our survey said their computer had caught a virus. With numerous free anti-virus and anti-spyware packages now available there’s really no excuse for not having even a basic level of security.
We also asked how safe people felt online. 77% said they believed the internet was becoming more dangerous, however this may be a perception which is coloured more by widely publicised hacks than personal experiences. Only 12% said they had been the victim of an online scam, 15% said their personal data had been leaked in a hack and 65% said they personally felt safe using the internet.
Protecting private data
But while individuals may feel safe about their personal browsing and device security, the image that the internet is becoming more dangerous has implications for any company holding private data. If we give up personal information while knowing the dangers, we are placing a level of trust in the site or service to responsibly store this data. Destroying this trust could be devastating to a business.
Our survey explored the impact of hacking on the organisations facing an attack. One question asked whether people believed companies were doing enough to protect confidential information, and unfortunately 75% do not think they are. Whether it’s due to the high profile attacks or a generally poor perception of security procedures, many of us think businesses could be working a lot harder to safeguard information.
Would you continue to use a service after they had suffered an attack? 41% of those we asked said they would not, but 57% said it would depend on the response. If a service is quick to issue a warning and provides full details to reassure users, that will go a long way to reassuring everyone.
A good example is Lastpass. This password management tool is a tempting target for hackers since a successful break-in could be a goldmine and there have been several known attempts on their systems. However each time it has happened the company has been prompt to announce the danger and advise everyone who may have been affected. Despite the risk of having every single password stolen, Lastpass continues to be a popular choice.
On the other side of the coin is TalkTalk. There, the company not only failed to announce the hack until a day later but remained tight-lipped about the numbers affected for weeks after and gave conflicting information about their security standards and what customers could do if they were unhappy. While TalkTalk is not in danger of going out of business, a recent study has estimated they lost a small but noticeable share of customers in the final quarter of 2015, something which may have been less of a problem had they been more open.
Matt Powell
Editor at Broadband Genie