Cybercrime and data breaches have been on the rise for many years, and it is not surprising that the threat of cybercrime has become a bigger concern for people than the threat of real, physical criminal acts. A recent report issued by Sophos, Ltd. indicates that people are now more worried about being the victim of a cyber attack than of being the victim of a traditional physical crime. This shift in people’s state of fear makes sense in light of how cyber threats have been evolving over the years. Much is at stake when you are victimized by a cybercrime.

Some Surprising Statistics About People’s Perception of Cybercrime

Cybercrime and cyber threats are often considered a technologically complicated matter. Many people do not fully understand what a cybersecurity threat is, or how it can truly affect them. This paradox is interesting because many people worry about protecting their homes, businesses, and vehicles from physical acts of crime such as robbery and burglary, but do very little to protect themselves from cyber security threats. Interestingly, the Sophos report noted that:

• While 63% of people surveyed had a fear of suffering financial losses due to cybercrime, 30% reported being inadequately educated about common cyber security threats such as phishing and ransomware.
• 61% are concerned about their computers being controlled by a hacker.
• Only 14% understood or knew or certain that they could and have backed up their computer system data to another computer or server.
• 11% had no idea if their computer system was secured against viruses and hackers.

While it is a step in the right direction to know that cyber security threats exist and that they can wreak havoc on your computer system, what is more important is taking steps to try and protect your system from these threats. Basic security measures such as installing firewalls and backing up data can go a long way to reducing the impact that a system breach can have on your day-to-day operations and yet very few people perform these basic safety measures regularly, if at all. This is troubling in light of the fact that cybersecurity threats are on the rise.

Basic education about what cybersecurity is, what threats exist, and how to protect your system against these threats can be invaluable to you. It is better to prepare against a cyber attack before it happens then to deal with the consequences of being unprepared after your system has been ransacked by a data breach.

The field of cyber security is relatively new and complicated, not to mention that it is constantly changing. Handling data security breach issues can be tough and overwhelming to a recently victimized business or individual, and we want to help. Revision Legal has worked with numerous companies across the country in the past to navigate data security breaches and other cyber security issues. Please feel free to contact the cybersecurity and breach notification lawyers at Revision Legal by using the online form on this page or call us at 855-473-8474.

Image credit: Exclusive Networks