South Africans are feeling the effects of an increase in cyber crime, collectively costing victims over R3.42 billion rand over the past 12 months, according to Symantec's 2013 Norton report.
Symantec's data indicates that over one million South Africans fell victim to cyber crime in the past year, costing the country a total of $337 million (R3.42 billion) - or $233 (R2 367) per victim.
SA is the third most hard-hit country when it comes to cyber crime, says the report - with 73% of respondents indicating that they have experienced cyber crime in their lifetime, 55% of which had experienced it in the past year. Russia is most hard hit (85%) and China (77%) the second most, according to the security firm.
According to Symantec, the greatest areas where users are failing security, globally, are mobile data and handling private information online. The security company also notes that cyber crime activity has made a large move towards mobile platforms, but security and mobile security "IQ" has been left behind.
Close to half of the 13 000 respondents indicated that they experienced mobile cyber crime in the past year - but only 33% had basic security software on their smartphones, while 42% had security software on their tablets.
The report stipulates that while desktop protection is high among consumers, the cyber criminal is moving to mobile and tablet devices where consumers are vulnerable. As mobile device adoption continues to grow, suggesting a degree of mobile dependence, so will the opportunities for cyber criminals.
Other factors are as a result of employees using their personal devices for work and play, with 36% of respondents saying their company has no policy on the use of personal devices for work. There is also risky behaviour on social media as a contributor, with a quarter of social media users sharing their social media passwords with others, 31% connecting with people they don't know and 39% not logging off after a session.
The company advises users to think of mobile as mini-computers and make sure that their mobile devices require passwords. Also, while cloud storage solutions make it easy to save and share files, the report cautions that they also open other avenues for attack and if possible, enterprises and consumers should opt for a solution with a built-in security solution.
Furthermore, free of unsecured WiFi can make it easy for thieves to eavesdrop on users' activity, notes the report, explaining that any sensitive transactions like banking and shopping while connected to these networks, should be avoided.
While across the globe there are fewer people falling victim to cyber fraud, Symantec concludes that the cost to each victim has risen.
The report is based on interviews conducted with 13 022 adults from 24 countries (a minimum of 500 people per country), carried out between July and August 2013, stating that 378 million people fell victim to cyber crime in the past year - over one million per day - amounting to a global cost of $113 billion (R1.15 trillion), and costing individuals $298 (R3 029) per victim.
Share