Thirty-three percent of Americans experienced one or more cyberattacks last year, nearly half of whom were victimized by phishing attacks, as cybersecurity incidents across the U.S. rose by 27%, compared with 2020, reports TechRadar.
A NordVPN study showed that 50% of individuals reported being well-prepared for cybersecurity incidents despite the growing number of victims.
Financial account hacking was the primary personal cybersecurity concern among Americans, followed by identity theft, social media compromise, smart home device hacking, and medical or vaccine record exfiltration. Exposure of financial data was cited the leading business cybersecurity incident concern, followed by the sale of personal data on the dark web.
Many people in the U.S. continue to exhibit risky online behaviors, with more than one-third not changing their passwords frequently. Thirty percent reported going to websites with questionable security and 29% have not been using VPNs while accessing public Wi-Fi networks. Americans were also found to store their credentials on devices that are not secure.