Perth most likely to be 'œdigitally duped," AVG says

Marina Freri
Wednesday, 07 September 2011 12:14

Your IT - Home IT

Results of a survey of online and mobile consumer behaviour across Australia ranked Perth the most at-risk city for stolen identities, digital fraud and data loss.

Anti-virus distributor AVG (AU/NZ) commissioned online data collection company, Research Now, to undertake a survey into online security breaches. About 1250 people from five different Australian capital cities, Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth and Sydney, took the survey.

The results show the Western Australia capital city was the most exposed to digital fraud, while Adelaide was the most security savvy city overall. Brisbane followed Perth in the list, while Sydney and Melbourne were placed equal third.

AVG (AU/NZ) security evangelist, Lloyd Borrett, said that, overall, Australian consumers were becoming smarter at addressing online threats but added that they needed to protect all their personal devices. 'Taking some security measures and overlooking others '” such as backing up your PC and not your smartphone '” is like locking your door and leaving the windows open,' he said. 'Comprehensive online protection means covering all Internet-enabled devices - smartphone, tablet and PC.'

According to AVG, overall results showed Australians were putting themselves at risk of identity theft, viruses and malware, with 12 percent of respondents not running an anti-virus scan at least once a month, and 73 percent not using an identity monitoring service or other forms of identity protection services.

With regard to mobile devices, AVG claimed the survey showed 'poor mobile protection habits'. While most respondents said they backed up their computer, only 36 percent of them admitted of backing up their mobile devices. 'As more data is stored on more devices - and more cybercriminals attempt to get their hands on it - consumers need to be vigilant about safeguarding their personal information,' Borrett said.

Overall, the survey showed Adelaide residents were the best at protecting their passwords, having the lowest percentage of respondents (22 percent) admitting of having shared a password with someone else. Melbournians were second best for password confidentiality, while Sydneysiders ranked number one for computer backing up.

People in Brisbane fared the worst in terms of password security, with 28 percent of respondents admitting telling a password to at least another person. Despite being on top of the list for security-threats, Perth inhabitants ranked second best for backing up.