By Gemma Simpson, 9 October 2006 13:40
NEWS
Consumers are more worried about falling victim to cyber crime than mugging, car theft or burglary, a survey has revealed.
The government-backed Get Safe Online study found 21 per cent of respondents fear online attacks but only 16 per cent are concerned about being burgled.
There is so much concern about internet crime some people are deterred from using the net altogether, with one in six too terrified to log on.
Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) refuse to bank online and 18 per cent won't indulge in online shopping.
Cabinet Office minister Pat McFadden warned the public will lose out on the enormous economic and social benefits the internet provides unless the important issue of cyber crime fear is addressed.
He said in a statement: "Fear of online crime is an important issue that must not be ignored. Otherwise, we will lose out on the enormous economic and social benefits that the internet provides."
But while 72 per cent of consumers said they need more information to arm themselves against online threats, 40 per cent said they are unsure where to get advice.
John Lyons, group security advisor at internet payment service provider Secure Trading - one of the sponsors of the campaign - told silicon.com: "It's a question of the unknown. People are getting online and can't see where an attack is coming from."
But Lyons said the public is getting more aware of the methods online attackers are using and people are wising up to the fact that if something seems too good to be true it probably is.
Comments
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1. anonymous
Its a sad sign. People won't leave their homes for fear of crime now they won't sign on for fear of crime. If it's not paedophiles it's hackers or phishing or identity theft from paperwork from your bins.
Is there 18% of the population that will starve to death barricaded into their homes?
As an IT pro, I give free sessions in my local area to people who want to know if there PC is safe online. Mostly it is buy or install a free AV app and tighten up a firewall. I would encourage more pro's to do it to spread some reassurance.
2. anonymous
Perhaps it will be something of a good thing if Internet access iscurtailed & its further growth stopped inn the UK. Perhaps it will stop the current unseemly scramble for new users by certain companies.
One wonders which side is winning?
The dark side, or the light side.
Should Internet access be banned for those under 18, or even to students of 21?
Think plagiarism, etc
3. Joachim Fietz
After reading the results of the government–backed online research called Get Safe Online, which revealed that more consumers fear cyber crime attacks (21%) than are concerned about being burgled (16%), I need to say that businesses need to develop an equally keen awareness of the threat to their industrial Ethernet networks from virus attacks as their consumer counterparts have.
Consumer concerns appear legitimate as a BBC test proves. The BBC News website’s PC vulnerability tests showed that an unprotected home PC was attacked 50 times in a single night by hackers. It begs the question: Just how many attacks is the business network subjected to each day?
Too many companies rest on their laurels when they feel they have secured their office-based network against external threat. They appear short-sighted when it comes to safeguarding the network that runs their manufacturing or production operations. They believe that these networks are under less threat just because they have only limited external access routes. The reality is that they are not! The threat of transferring a virus from the LAN (local area network) to an internal network is real - the consequences could paralyse the manufacturing process leading to catastrophic results for the business.
Companies need to balance the need for uniform data communication companywide without compromising the security of their different environments. The office set-up has very different security needs than the industrial environment. A decentralised security approach in the production setting will ensure fast and secure communication for even non-patchable systems.