29.9 M People In India Are Cyber Crime Victims: Norton

A Norton study said that the cost of global cyber crime amounts to $114 billion, annually, with an additional loss of $274 billion pertaining to lost time of victims. In India, it is estimated that more than 29.9 million people fell victim to cyber crime in 2010, resulting in direct financial losses of $4 billion, and an additional $3.6 billion in time spent resolving the crime.

According to the Norton Cybercrime Report 2011 more than two thirds of online adults (69 percent) have been a victim of cyber crime in their lifetime. Every second, 14 adults become a victim of cyber crime, resulting in more than one million cyber crime victims every day. In India, four in five online adults (80 percent) have been a victim of cyber crime.
 

The report also reveals that 10 percent of adults online globally (17 percent in India) have experienced cyber crime on their mobile phone. In fact, the Symantec Internet Security Threat Report, Volume 16 reported there were 42 percent more mobile vulnerabilities in 2010 compared to 2009. The number of reported new mobile operating system vulnerabilities increased, from 115 in 2009 to 163 in 2010. In addition to threats on mobile devices, increased social networking and a lack of protection are claimed to be some of the main culprits behind the growing number of cyber crime victims.

Globally, 54 percent of respondents said that they have experienced computer viruses and malware in their lifetime. Viruses are followed by online scams (11 percent) and phishing messages (10 percent).

“There is a disconnect in how people view the threat of cyber crime,” said Gaurav Kanwal, Country Sales Manager - India and SAARC, Consumer Business Unit, Symantec. “Cyber crime is much more prevalent than people realize. Over the past 12 months, three times as many adults surveyed have suffered from online crime versus offline crime, yet less than a third of respondents think they are more likely to become a victim of cyber crime than physical world crime in the next year. And while 89 percent of respondents agree that more needs to be done to bring cyber criminals to justice, fighting cyber crime is a shared responsibility.”

The divide between awareness and action is illustrated by the fact that while 74 percent of respondents are aware of cyber crime, many are not taking the necessary precautions. Forty-one percent of adults indicated they do not have an up to date security software suite to protect their personal information online. In addition, less than half of the respondents review credit card statements regularly for fraud (47 percent), and 61 percent do not use complex passwords or change them regularly. Among those who access the Internet via their mobile phone, only 16 percent install an up to date mobile security.

Source : http://www.crn.in/Security-009Sep011-29-M-People-In-India-Are-Cyber-Crime-Victims-Norton.aspx

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