Norton: Cybercrime strikes 83 percent of Internet users in Malaysia

Up to 83 percent of Internet users in Malaysia have fallen victim to cybercrimes, says security software maker Norton in a new study released recently.

According to the Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact, the crimes include computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft. This silent digital epidemic is the result of consumers´ apathy, which leaves them vulnerable and exposed in the online world.
Although one in three Malaysians blamed the criminals behind the cybercrime, one third of Malaysians felt highly responsible for cybercriminal activities that resulted from their response to online scams and phishing attacks.


However, solving cybercrime can be highly frustrating. According to the report, 45 percent of cybercrime victims in Malaysia have never fully resolved the cybercrime.


This is no surprise when it takes an average of 30 days and an average cost of MYR7,323 to come to a resolution. Twenty percent of the respondents said the biggest hassle they faced when dealing with cybercrime was the loss of irreplaceable data or items of sentimental value; and sixty percent said their biggest fear when it comes to being a victim of cybercrime is the financial loss.
Nevertheless, despite the hassle, reporting a cybercrime is critical.
"We all pay for cybercrime, either directly or through pass-along costs from our financial institutions," said Effendy Ibrahim, Internet safety advocate & consumer business head, Asia, Symantec.
"Cybercriminals purposely steal small amounts to remain undetected, but all of these add up. If you fail to report a loss, you may actually be helping the criminal stay under the radar. Ultimately, the cost of resolving cybercrime is losing money and time -- one way or another the victim is paying a ´price´ and the impact is not just financial but emotional too."


The report also examined the emotional impact of cybercrime and found that Malaysian victims´ strongest reactions are anger (73 percent), feeling cheated (55 percent) and upset (51 percent).
Besides cybercrime and its emotional impact, the report also looked at the "human aspect," which delved further into the little crimes or white lies consumers perpetrate against friends, family, loved ones and businesses.
Thirty-six percent of the respondents think it´s morally okay to download a single music track, album or movie without paying; 20 percent believe it is legal to secretly view someone else´s browser history files and 12 percent believe it is legal to check someone else´s emails.


However, these behaviours, such as downloading files, open people up to additional security threats as cybercriminals lurk in places where people download illegal content and make use of these channels to distribute malware.
Still, it is not all bad news. The good thing is that more than 80 percent of respondents feel that it´s unethical to sell someone´s personal information, hack into someone´s online account and use someone else´s personal information online.


The study shows that digital respect is given as Malaysians´ online rules include not passing along spam (73 percent), not passing along embarrasing photos (68 perecent), not bullying or threatening others online and not harassing or stalking people online (65 percent respectively).
The study serves as a stark reminder that there is still a need for people to take simple steps to protect themselves on the online space.


Source : http://gadgets.emedia.com.my/product.php?id=1205