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September 5, 2012 By News Staff
Cybercrime costs consumers $110 billion annually, according to an annual report released by Norton. The 2012 Norton Cybercrime Report polled 13,000 adults in 24 countries and determined that cybercrime is shifting toward mobile devices and social media.
“Cybercriminals are changing their tactics to target fast growing mobile platforms and social networks where consumers are less aware of security risks,” said Marian Merritt, Norton Internet safety advocate. “This mirrors what we saw in this year’s Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, which reported nearly twice the mobile vulnerabilities in 2011 from the year before.”
The group estimated that 556 million adults worldwide were exposed to some form of cybercrime within the past 12 months, a figure that represents 46 percent of online adults. For mobile computing, 21 percent of users were exposed to cybercrime and for social media platforms, 39 percent of users were exposed.
More social media statistics from the report include a 15 percent share of users reporting that someone gained illicit access to their account. About 10 percent of social network users reported falling victim to a scam or fake link. About 75 percent of users believe cybercriminals are focusing more on social media, but only 44 percent use a social networking security solution and 49 percent use privacy settings to control access to their accounts. About 31 percent of mobile users reported they received a text message from an unknown sender requesting they click on an embedded link or dial an unknown number to retrieve a voicemail message.
Learn more in the full 2012 Norton Cybercrime Report.
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