Digital security
Cybersecurity Awareness Month is coming to an end and Halloween is just around the corner. So here’s a series of frightening numbers on very real tricks and threats lurking online.
October 30, 2023
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4 minutes. read
October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month (CSAM) in the United States and Canada And European Cybersecurity Month (ECMS) across the pond. These campaigns represent a great opportunity to share best practices and improve awareness of all things cybersecurity among businesses and consumers.
But October is also the scariest month of the year. So with Halloween approaching, it seemed like a good idea to combine the two events and share 20 important facts and figures to scare everyone who values their safety. Why 20? Because 2023 marks two decades of CSAM.
This year’s CSAM has a very simple four-part message to improve your safety:
- Use strong passwords and a password manager
- Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- Recognize and report phishing
- Update your software
Our 20 Scary Security Facts That Will Haunt You
With the above in mind, here are 20 terrifying security facts to keep these tips in mind:
- Phishing was the most common form of cybercrime against businesses and consumers last year, according to incidents reported to the FBI. A total of 300,000 cases have been reported in 2022, although this is likely just the tip of the iceberg.
- Phishing attacks use many lures. Social media-themed lures were most common in the first half of 2023, according to ESET H1 2023 Threat Report. These made up 37.5% of all phishing websites.
- Username/password combinations are in high demand because they can give hackers access to your personal and online banking accounts. A 2022 Report found more than 24 billion such combinations on the dark web, up from 15 billion in 2020.
- Software updates are essential for patching newly discovered vulnerabilities that cybercriminals might otherwise exploit. Last year, a registration number of these vulnerabilities have been discovered and published: 25,096.
- About 80% of vulnerabilities reported in 2022 were of medium or high severity, with 16% deemed critical. However, even non-critical vulnerabilities can be exploited by cybercriminals with detrimental effects.
- Phishing remains an important source of income for cybercriminals. In 2022 alone, it cost consumers and businesses more than $52 million, according to the FBI.
- MFA is a great way to mitigate the threat of phishing and keep your online accounts secure. Yet 44% of Americans know it only “fairly well” or have not heard of it at all, according to a study.
- It is therefore not particularly surprising that only 2.6% offormerly Twitter) users have enabled MFA to protect their account from phishing. Social media is a popular target for cybercriminals, so you need to protect your accounts from illegal hacks.
- Not all types of MFA are created equal, as hackers can intercept codes sent via text with relative ease. Yet SMS remains the most popular form of MFA. On Twitter (now X), they accounted for 74% of MFAs in 2021, followed by the more secure options of authenticator apps (29%) and security keys (1%).
- It’s important to use unique, hard-to-guess credentials for all your accounts. A 2022 study by Digital Shadows found that 40 of the top 50 most common passwords can be cracked in less than a second.
- According to the same studyalmost one in 200 passwords is “123456”, which can be easily guessed by cybercriminals.
- It is crucial to change your passwords if they have been involved in a data breach. However, according to a Study 2021less than half (48%) of breach victims change the passwords of the hacked account.
- Password reuse is dangerous because it can allow hackers to open multiple of your accounts with a single stolen credential. However, only 15% of consumers use a unique password on each account.
- Stolen credentials can have a critical impact on your digital life and finances. More than half (55%) of identity breaches came from compromised passwords Last year.
- Identity fraud resulting from password theft can even cause emotional and psychological problems. Nearly a fifth (16%) of American victims reported having suicidal thoughts. during an interview this year.
- When cybercriminals recover your passwords, they can hijack your social, banking and other accounts. More than a fifth (22%) of American adults have been victims of account takeover (ATO), according to a 2021 study.
- Account takeover can be costly for victims: the average financial loss from ATO financial attacks is almost $12,000.
- As awareness grows, so do concerns about cybersecurity. Nearly half (46%) of Americans are confident in the security of their online accounts and 56% are more concerned about their online security than ever, according to research. Google.
- Resetting your password is important if you are concerned that your account has been hacked or that an organization you do business with will notify you of a breach. A fifth (21%) of Americans reset their passwords every day or several times a week, which may mean they rely too much on their memory.
- Password managers are a great way to store long, strong, and unique passwords for each application and site. Yet, according to the same survey, only 44% of Americans I currently use one.
Remember: Good cybersecurity applies all year round, not just on Halloween. SO update your software When prompted, choose strong and unique passwords or passphrases and store them in a password manager, activate AMF on all accounts that offer it, and familiarize yourself with revealing phishing tactics. Be careful.
This video will also help get you on the right path to improving password security: