ENABLE MULTI-FACTOR AUTHENTICATION
Nearly half (48%) of US/UK respondents say they have “never heard of MFA.” Many people don’t realize that multi-factor authentication is an incredibly important tool that goes a long way in keeping accounts secure. In fact, of those who knew about it (52%), most had applied MFA to their online accounts (81%) and were still using it (90%), showing that once MFA is enabled, users will keep using it.
Did you know?
- Only 26% of companies use multi-factor authentication. (LastPass)
- Two-factor authentication has become more popular over the last two years, with 79% of US/
- UK respondents saying they used it in 2021, compared to 53% who used it in 2019. (Duo Labs)
- SMS text messages are the most common second factor US/UK users choose when logging
- into two-factor authentication accounts, at 85%. (Duo Labs)
USE STRONG PASSWORDS AND A PASSWORD MANAGER
53% of people rely on their memory to manage passwords. (Ponemon Institute) As our online lives expand, we’ve gone from having just a few passwords to today, where we might manage upwards of 100. That’s 100 unique passwords to remember, if you’re using strong password habits. Password managers can save users a lot of headache and make accounts safer by recommending strong passwords.
Did you know?
- 43% of adults have shared their password with someone. (Google)
- Only 45% of adults would change a password after a breach. (Google)
- 75% of people said they don’t know how to create secure passwords in the first place. (Ponemon Institute)
- 81% of the total number of breaches leveraged stolen or weak passwords. (LastPass)
- 61% of employees use the same passwords for multiple platforms. (LastPass)
- The most commonly used password management strategy was writing them down in a notebook (31%). Remembering passwords was also seen as a popular technique reported by 26% of the participants. (NCA)
- Only 12% of the participants reported using a stand-alone password manager application with another 11% saving their passwords in their browser. (NCA)
- 28% of adults in the US use the same password for all of their online accounts. (Business Insider)
- 65% of Americans don’t trust password managers. (Password Manager & YouGov)
UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE
Nearly a third (31%) of US/UK respondents say they either “sometimes,” “rarely,” or “never” install software updates. (NCA) One of the easiest ways to keep information secure is to keep software and apps updated. Updates fix general software problems and provide new security patches where criminals might get in. This Cybersecurity Awareness Month, we’re telling others to step away from the “remind me later” button to stay one step ahead of cybercriminals.
Did you know?
- 68% of the participants reported installing the latest updates and software as soon as these are available. (NCA)
- Of those who reported installing the latest updates to their devices, 45% had turned on automatic updates. A further 21% noting that they take immediate action when they receive a notification. (NCA) Just 20% of Android devices use the latest and safest OS version. (Symantec)
RECOGNIZE AND REPORT PHISHING
Phishing attacks in data breaches increased 11% from 2019 to 2020. It went from 25% to 36% based on analysis of confirmed breaches. (Verizon) Phishing attacks have become an increasingly common problem for organizations of all sizes and can be very difficult to spot. 30% of small businesses consider phishing attacks to be their top cybersecurity concern. It’s important for every individual to stop and think before clicking on a link or attachment in a message and know how to spot the red flags.
Did you know?
- Only 60% of adults could define what “phishing” is. (Google)
- Nearly 3 out of 4 companies experienced a phishing attack in 2020 (Symantecs).
- 72% of respondents reported that they checked to see whether messages were legitimate (i.e. phishing or a scam) compared to 10% who reported not doing so. (NCA)
- Nearly half of the participants (48%) reported phishing emails to the sender (e.g. the real person the cyber criminal tried to impersonate by sending the phishing email). (NCA)
- 42% of the participants said they used the reporting capability on a platform (e.g. Gmail) “very often” or “always”. (NCA)
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