Norton reports billion users were affected by cybercrime in 2017

Norton by Symantec has released 2017 Norton Cyber Security Insights Report which examines the online behaviors, attitudes and security habits of the consumers, as well as the dangers and financial cost of cybercrime. This annual survey of over 20,000 consumers in 20 countries found that 978 million people were affected by cybercrime in 2017 and have lost $172 billion. The cause is the overconfidence of consumers in their security prowess which left them vulnerable. Globally, victims of cybercrime have a similar profile: they are everyday consumers who use multiple devices, but while they adopted new security techniques, they tend to dismiss the basics, for example using the same password across multiple accounts or sharing it with others. The report finds that consumers’ beliefs around the probability and culpability of cybercrime are contradicting: while 81% of consumers globally think a cybercrime should be treated as a criminal act, 43% believe it’s acceptable to commit morally questionable online behaviors in certain instances, such as reading someone’s emails without their consent, using a false email or someone else’s email to identify their self online and even accessing someone’s financial accounts without their permission. Consumers’ trust in the institutions that manage their data and personal information continues but they have lost trust in their government.