About Us | Contact Us
View Cart

The Public Has a Cybersecurity Awareness Problem

By Vigilize | Monday, October 14, 2019 - Leave a Comment

A new study shows most Americans fail to understand basic cybersecurity concepts…


An article review.


ServIcons_ITAudit_01

Considering that many of us live in a world where cybersecurity related subjects are commonplace, continuing awareness programs may sometimes seem excessive…after all, we’re all familiar with the basics by now, right?

Well, a new study recently published by the Pew Research Center shows why awareness is a job that is never really complete: less than half the people polled knew what “Private Browsing” mode did, or what “HTTPS” meant in a URL.

It wasn’t all bad news however, as the study only included ten questions, and at least one–the question with the lowest number of correct answers–didn’t seem to apply to cybersecurity at all: participants were asked to identify the CEO of Twitter in a photograph. Additionally, over half the participants were aware of what a phishing attack was, that cookies can track website activities, and that social media sites’ largest form of revenue was advertising to users.

Still, the lack of awareness around subjects such as two-factor authentication and HTTPS serve as a reminder of why we must treat awareness training as a continuous process…We can’t assume anything is “common knowledge” even if they are subjects we’ve been covering for years. After all, not everyone is immersed in technology, and we all could use a reminder from time to time.


Original article by Tom Spring writing for ThreatPost.


same_strip_012513


 

Latest News
    Artificial intelligence carries risk, but so does organic ignorance … Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . At a recent conference, I noticed two camps emerging in the debate over artificial intelligence. Some people embrace AI as a tool, while others support Elon […]
    PRESS RELEASE – FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE BUSINESS NEWS NEW EMPLOYEE FOR INFOTEX We are pleased to announce the appointment of Nathan Taylor as our new Network Administrator at infotex.  “We are very excited to have Nathan join our team as a Network Administrator and look forward to his contributions to maintaining and improving our infrastructure!” […]
    about artificial intelligence . . . And who will protect us from it . . .  Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . Just watched some press on the the Senate hearings over regulating AI. The normal senator faces, Sam Altman of OpenAI, […]
    The Evolution of an Inside Term Used in our Vendor Risk Report Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . Those who audit infotex know that our vendor risk report refers to a couple of our providers as “ransomware companies.” This reference started evolving […]
    Another awareness poster for YOUR customers (and users). Now that we have our own employees aware, maybe it’s time to start posting content for our customers! Check out posters.infotex.com for the whole collection! Download the large versions here: Awareness Poster (Portrait) Awareness Poster (Landscape) You are welcome to print out and distribute this around your […]
    New tools could allow unskilled attackers to launch increasingly sophisticated attacks… An article review. Imagine a world where you receive a call from your boss asking you to assist them with something… only it’s not your boss, but an AI being used by an attacker.  This isn’t science fiction, it’s an actual attack that has […]
    Unavailability Strikes Where it doesn’t matter anyway Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . So, I’m writing today’s article from a resort in the middle of Wisconsin.  I want to make sure I’m staying on top of my New Leaf, which is to […]
    . . . and the importance of segregated response. The latest edition of Executive Vice President, Michael Hartke’s article series! In 2007 when I first joined infotex, coming from small to medium sized business general IT support into the world of cybersecurity, the one thing that was very hard for me to internally rectify was […]
    How concerts can help us understand APTs . . . Especially if you use your imagination! Another one of those Dan’s New Leaf Posts, meant to inspire thought about IT Governance . . . . My daughter reminded me of a concert Stacey and I attended way back in 2013, in Chicago.  It was one […]
    Mutiny! The Malicious Insider Threat Webinar Registration A Webinar-Video It is often awkward to bring up the one attack vector most of us have not addressed. The malicious insider threat. Even if we can flaunt all statistics and claim that the likelihood of an insider attack is low in our bank, the impact is still […]