Maintaining privacy and security online is a never-ending story and the latest research shows there are still numerous issues for both consumers and businesses as they battle to stay safe.
According to Safe Surfing data released by GoDaddy, almost a quarter of Australians (22 per cent) have already been a victim of data breach or online security threat.
And at the same time, 85 per cent think our increased use and reliance on technology is going to make them even more vulnerable to cyber threats.
But online security can also affect perception with 64 per cent of Australians saying they would not visit a website if a company or brand had been the victim of an online security threat.
So who is most at risk?
According to the 2020 Webroot Threat Report, consumer PCs are twice as likely to get infected than business PCs.
The report revealed there was a 640 per cent increase in phishing attempts in 2019 and a 125 per cent increase in malware aimed at the Windows 7 operating system which is still being used by a large number of people on older computers worldwide.
The data revealed computers running older operating systems were far more likely to be infected.
The top sites impersonated by phishing sites were Facebook, Microsoft, Apple, Google, PayPal and Dropbox.
So how do we protect ourselves? Obviously passwords and two factor authentication need to be strong but cyber criminals are constantly picking at these locks.
The 2020 State of Password and Authentication Security Behaviours Report says most Australian organisations are concerned about privacy and the security of personal data.
Individuals who were surveyed are concerned about government surveillance (65 per cent) protecting details about their health status (53 per cent).
Almost half of Australian organisations (47 per cent) have experienced a phishing attack or ransomware attack (13 per cent).
There is a password policy for 64 per cent of Australian organisations surveyed but only 36 per cent of employees said it was strictly enforced.
Two-factor authentication is only required by 42 per cent of organisations.
More than 70 per cent of those surveyed saw biometrics as a way to increase their organisation’s security and authentication process.
