An international study of cyberattacks has discovered discrepancies based on race and gender.
The research by Malwarebytes, Digitunity and the Cybercrime Support Network based on a survey of 5,000 people in the United States, United Kingdom and Germany found that Black people, Indigenous people, and People of Color (BIPOC) are more likely to have their identities stolen than White people, 21 percent compared to 15 percent.
Those minorities are also less likely to avoid the financial impact of a cyberattack, with 47 percent able to skirt the financial consequences of an attack, compared to 59 percent of all respondents participating in the research.
Women, too, suffered, in some ways, more than men from cyberattacks. For example, women whose social media accounts get hacked are more likely than men to have the attack result in someone sending suspicious messages to friends and family, 48 percent compared to 43 percent.
In addition, nearly half the women in the survey (46 percent) noted their social media accounts had been hacked, compared to 37 percent for men.
Not a single person in the survey was able to avoid suspicious online activity, no matter their gender, race, age, income, or education level, the report revealed.
“Though not enough people, overall, believe that the internet is either a safe or private place to spend their time, women, BIPOC, and younger generations showed even lower rates of feeling safe or private online,” the report observed.
Women also feel less secure online, the researchers found. While nearly half the men in the survey (49 percent) felt “somewhat” or “very” safe online, only 37 percent of women felt that way.
“The reasons for this could be many,” the researchers wrote, “but when looking strictly at the data, more women suffered from some types of suspicious online activity than men.”
Comments
Post a Comment