Report highlights need for increased cybersecurity awareness

As cyber threats become trickier and more prevalent, many people are being left vulnerable due to lack of knowledge or understanding of the risks.

The National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA) released a report into cybersecurity attitudes and behaviors, finding that many in the 2,000-person survey conducted in the United States and United Kingdom are apathetic about protecting data, thinking that it is either not their responsibility or that they have nothing to lose.

Forty percent of full-time and part-time employees surveyed consider themselves the least responsible within their organization for protecting company data. Meanwhile, survey participants were quoted as saying that “Basically I have nothing to lose,” as well as “Data leaks happen all the time. I’ve had my details stolen from many different companies over the years.”

These attitudes may relate to the low reporting of cybercrime, as 61 percent of cybercrime victims and 37 percent of identity theft victims did not report their incidents to authorities. Reporting behaviors may be generational, as Baby Boomers (ages 57-75) surveyed were 2-3 times more likely to report being victims of cybercrime than Millennial (ages 25-40) and Gen Z (18-24) survey participants.

“This type of information is crucial to our ongoing work in bringing awareness to cyber threats,” said Guy J Albertini, Rutgers Associate Vice President and Chief Information Security Officer (CISO). “We need to understand the attitudes of everyone – from students to faculty and staff – to be able to properly reach these groups and get them to realize that cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility.”

A key issue in getting others to use best cybersecurity practices is a lack of knowledge or not knowing how to best take action, according to the report.

Despite many resources being available online, 64 percent of survey participants said they did not have access to cybersecurity advice or training. Some did not recognize common security tools, with 48 percent of those surveyed saying they have not heard of multi-factor authentication (MFA).

“Rutgers offers resources like free antivirus software and two-step login with Duo, as well as a direct contact for reporting scams and information on topics like web conference security and phishing. Making sure our entire community understands what’s available to them will be a focus going forward,” Albertini said.

Read the full report here and learn more about the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCSA) at its website, StaySafeOnline.org.