The recent Norton Cyber Security Insights Report, a global study that looks at consumer attitudes regarding cybercrime, including password habits, connected device security and protecting children online, has some interesting Canadian stats.

Cybercrime usually spikes with the increased online consumer Holiday shopping so this is a good time to be aware of Canadian’s security mindset.

A few highlights:

• 26% of Canadians personally experienced cybercrime within the past year, compared to 31% of people globally. The most commonly experienced cybercrime in the Canada is credit card fraud.

• Phishing scams are still commonly used by cybercriminals – 92 per cent of Canadians said they may have experienced a phishing incident.
• One in 4 Canadians cannot detect a phishing attack with confidence, while another 15% have to guess between a real message and a phishing email, meaning 4 in 10 are vulnerable.
• Canadians are still not protecting their devices simply because they don’t think they need to. 40 per cent of Canadian consumers have at least one unprotected device, and complacency is the largest reason for inadequate protection.
• Millennials are the most likely to share passwords compared to other generations.
• Parents are also more likely to share their passwords – the first line of defence against attacks –than non-parents.
• More than half (54 per cent) of parents believe their kids are more likely to be bullied online than on a playground.
• Parents with connected home devices overwhelmingly believe they make their lives easier (80 percent), but the inherent vulnerabilities in many devices leave parents and their data open to cyberattacks.

Check this comparison between Canada and Global cyber security findings:

Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report 2016 Global Comparisons
TOP FINDINGS	CANADA	GLOBAL (21 countries)
Total consumers affected by cybercrime in past year (Total in 2015)	8.5 million (26%) (7.4 million)	689.4 million (31%)
Total financial cost of cybercrime in past year (Total in 2015)	$1.9 billion ($1.5 billion)	$125.9 billion (USD)
Total time lost to cybercrime in past year (Total in 2015)	13.3 hours (11 hours)	19.7 hours
Most common cybercrime ever personally experienced (not within past year)	Credit card fraud / Account password compromised: 21%	Account password compromised: 18%
Percent able to accurately detect phishing email	74%	72%
Percent who know how to determine whether the Wi-Fi network they are using is secure	49%	48%
Connected home device respondents are most likely to protect	Home entry/security system: 77%	Home entry/security system: 76%
Percent believing connected home devices offer hackers new ways to steal data	76%	72%
Percent who think as connected devices become more common, hackers will start to target them more often	70%	62%
Who should teach online safety?	Individuals should teach themselves: 71%	Internet providers: 64%

 

Percent confident in their ability to keep personal information safe online	40%	40%
Percent believing it’s become harder to stay safe and secure online over the past 5 years	70%	63%
Percent of parents with children ever experiencing cyberbullying	12%	10%
Percent who think children are exposed to more online dangers now than 5 years ago	80%	78%
Percent concerned a modern election could be hacked	42%	41%

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