As online retail grows at 11 per cent year-on-year, a new study shows that Australians are getting wiser in protecting themselves from online crime.
Research from PayPal and the Centre for Internet Safety at the University of Canberra shows that 90 per cent of regular users are confident they won’t fall victim to cybercrimes with their good online password management.
The study also show that Australians are less likely to call for common password pitfalls with two thirds refusing to share online passwords and nearly 80 per cent ensuring passwords do not contain personal information, a common point of attack for the online criminal.
Frerk-Malte Feller, managing director, PayPal Australia, said: “As an enabler of secure online payments, we are committed to protecting the personal financial information our four million active account holders and are proud of the work that we do to enable safe online commerce. As online shopping booms, we urge consumers not to take their online safety for granted and to spend time managing the security across all of their online accounts.”
Since the online environment has expanded beyond the PC to the laptop, mobile phone and tablet consumers, particularly young adults are participating in risky behaviour by taking shortcuts to remember their passwords.
Indeed, over a third of Australian’s stay constantly logged into their online accounts; the access this gives online criminals could be compared to leaving the front door to your house open.