Cybersecurity firm Aus3C unveils its Yearly Cybersecurity Attitudes and Practices Report
Aus3C, the Australian Cyber Collaboration Centre, has launched a new awareness campaign for Cybersecurity Awareness Month. The campaign aims to address the widespread complacency and pessimism surrounding cybersecurity, as revealed in the annual cybersecurity attitudes and behaviours report titled Oh Behave! 2024.
The report, conducted by CybSafe and supported in the USA by the National Cybersecurity Alliance (NCA), is based on polling over 6,500 individuals across Australia, New Zealand, the USA, the UK, Canada, Germany, France, and India.
One of the key findings of the report is that 43% of all participants assumed their devices were automatically secure, indicating a concerning level of complacency, especially among younger generations. This over-reliance on assumed security is further highlighted by the fact that 39% of Gen Z and Millennial respondents rely on family members to ensure online security.
The report also reveals that many younger users have tried multi-factor authentication (MFA) in the past but have since abandoned it. This, coupled with the fact that only 81% of participants are aware of MFA but adoption is inconsistent, particularly among Millennials and Gen Z, suggests a need for increased education and awareness about the importance of simple but effective cybersecurity practices.
Moreover, the report highlights generational disparities in attitudes towards cybersecurity, with Gen Z and Millennials becoming increasingly pessimistic about their ability to stay safe online. This pessimism is reflected in the fact that many younger respondents no longer believe that the effort to remain secure is worthwhile, with some reducing their online activities due to these concerns.
The campaign encourages individuals and organisations to take personal responsibility for online security, as 90% of participants across all age groups believe that apps and platforms should be responsible for protecting their personal information. However, Australians express the lowest confidence (35%) in companies responsibly implementing AI, compared to 71% of participants from India.
The report also highlights that more than half of employed participants (52%) and students (58%) have not received any training on safe AI use. This lack of education and training is concerning, as Australians are increasingly frustrated by online security measures, with 52% reporting feeling frustrated and 44% feeling intimidated by the complexities of staying safe online.
In response to these findings, only 60% of Australians believe that online security is worth the effort, a drop of 9% since last year. The campaign aims to educate individuals and organisations about the importance of personal responsibility for online security and to encourage the adoption of simple but effective cybersecurity practices.
The full report can be found here.
Read also:
- Artificial Intelligence with independent agency could potentially intervene in cybercrises.
- UNESCO Recognizes Traditional Board Game from Togaykumalak as Intangible Cultural Heritage
- Germany's digital autonomy remains elusive for now
- Lenovo's Lena AI chatbot potentially transformed into a covert hacker through a single questionable inquiry
