Adults across the UK are increasingly fatalistic about their level of online risk, according to a new study by YouGov for Kaspersky Lab. Possibly fuelled by what they see in the likes of the Bond and Bourne movies, consumers are exposing themselves to a high risk of online identity theft. Half the online adults surveyed believe cybercriminals can hack into any computer, laptop, smartphone or tablet they set their sights on; a perception likely to be influenced by film images of experts hacking easily into even the most secure-looking, password-protected and sophisticated computers and smartphones.

Only a minority of the 2,008 online adults surveyed have bothered to install any additional internet security software which can protect consumers whilst banking online. Instead, 80 per cent of those who bank online rely mainly or solely on the bank’s own pre-installed security systems and just 45 per cent have added their own security. Over a third say they have confidence in the bank’s security systems; a figure that could also reflect a general impression that the bank will cover the cost of any financial losses incurred fraudulently. Yet consumers are not taking into consideration the emotional effects and the time and effort they will need to spend recovering the online theft.

“The research findings suggest that when it comes to online information or identity theft a growing number of consumers are convinced there is little they can do to prevent a determined hacker from succeeding,” says David Emm, senior security researcher at Kaspersky Lab. “Today we are bombarded with glamorous images in TV dramas and the latest blockbusters of people breaking easily into hard drives and phones and getting their hands on someone’s entire digital life. Coupled with growing consumer confusion about the whole cyber risk landscape – an online search of the term cyber-threat today returns nearly 11 million results – it is not surprising that people are feeling overwhelmed and opting for inaction. However, the risks of such inaction should not be underestimated. We have seen how financially and emotionally devastating cybercrime can be, and work hard to help consumers address the risks they can see and the ones they can’t.”

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