‘Networking sites make 30% Internet users vulnerable to cyber attacks’

ALMOST a third of Internet users admitted to sharing their personal details on social networking sites (SNS) that left them vulnerable to attacks by cyber criminals. Posts and checks by these users are often shared with all users instead of with a limited circle of friends. Many users believed any information they put on these platforms could be accessed by people not on their friends list.

This was found in an online survey conducted recently by cyber security giant Kaspersky Lab to assess the cyber savviness of internet users across the globe. The survey was conducted among people over 18 years of age from 16 countries.

“In the survey, 12 per cent people admitted to befriending anybody who sent them a request irrespective of whether they knew them in real life. To ensure your social network sharing doesn’t leave you exposed to danger, one needs to be cautious about whom they befriend and trust on these sites as all might not be as they seem,” warned Managing Director, South Asia for Kaspersky Lab, Altaf Halde. It was also essential that privacy settings within social network accounts were at their highest, to ensure it was only your real friends you shared your status updates with, he added.

At least 26 per cent of the users said they didn’t hesitate to click on a link sent by a friend without asking what it was, or considering the possibility that the sender’s account had been hacked.