Consumers Sleeping with Their Smartphones and Tablets, but Failing to Use Protection
Mountain View, Calif. – Oct. 1, 2013 – Symantec (NASDAQ:SYMC) today released findings from the 2013 Norton Report, which shows that while the number of online adults who have experienced cybercrime has decreased, the average cost per victim has risen by 50 percent.¹
“Today’s cybercriminals are using more sophisticated attacks, such as ransomware and spear-phishing, which yield them more money per attack than ever before,” said Stephen Trilling, Chief Technology Officer, Symantec. “With the findings from the Norton Report that 49% of consumers use their personal mobile device for both work and play, this creates entirely new security risks for enterprises as cybercriminals have the potential to access even more valuable information.”
The report also found that while nearly half of all smartphone users care enough about their devices to sleep with them, they are not protecting them. Forty-eight percent of smartphone and tablet users do not take even the basic precautions such as using passwords, having security software or backing up files from their mobile devices. This carelessness places them, and their digital identities, at risk.
“If this was a test, mobile consumers would be failing,” said Marian Merritt, Internet Safety Advocate, Symantec. “While consumers are protecting their computers, there is a general lack of awareness to safeguard their smartphones and tablets. It’s as if they have alarm systems for their homes, but they’re leaving their cars unlocked with the windows wide open.”
About the Norton Report
The Norton Report (formerly the Norton Cybercrime Report) is one of the world’s largest consumer cybercrime studies, based on self-reported experiences of more than 13,000 adults across 24 countries, aimed at understanding how cybercrime affects consumers, and how the adoption and evolution of new technologies impacts consumers’ security.
About Symantec
Symantec protects the world’s information, and is a global leader in security, backup and availability solutions. Our innovative products and services protect people and information in any environment – from the smallest mobile device, to the enterprise data center, to cloud-based systems. Our world-renowned expertise in protecting data, identities and interactions gives our customers confidence in a connected world. More information is available at www.symantec.com or by connecting with Symantec at: go.symantec.com/socialmedia.
Norton Report Methodology
Between 4th of July, 2013 and 1st of August, 2013, Edelman Berland conducted online interviews with 13,022 adults, aged 18 to 64 from 24 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Colombia, Denmark, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Poland, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States of America). The margin of error for the total sample of adults (n=13,022 is 0.9% at the 95% level of confidence. 1000 adult respondents were interviewed in each of USA and India, 500 in other countries. The global data has been weighted to ensure all countries have equal representation of n500 adults.
Source: http://www.symantec.com/about/news/release/article.jsp?prid=20131001_01
