Brussels, 22/11/2013 (Agence Europe) - Internet users in Europe are increasingly concerned about cybercrime and, in a recent Eurobarometer survey, published on Friday 22 November, 76% of those polled said that the risk of becoming a victim of cybercrime has increased in the past year, says the European Commission in a press release.
The Eurobarometer poll of more than 27,000 people across the EU member states shows that 12% of internet users' social networking or emails accounts have already been pirated and 7% have been the victim of bank or bank card fraud online.
The Commission states: “While 70% of internet users across the EU are confident of their ability to use the internet to shop or bank online, only about 50% actually choose to do so. This significant gap shows the negative impact of cybercrime on the digital single market: the two main concerns about such online activities being related to the misuse of personal data (mentioned by 37%) and the security of online payments (35%) ».
The good news includes the fact that more people living in Europe (44% in 2013 compared with 38% in 2012) say they are well-informed of the risk of cybercrime: “However, it appears that they do not always draw all the necessary consequences from that information. For example, fewer than half of internet users have changed any of their online passwords during the past year (48% - slightly better than 45% in 2012)”.
Another paradox is the fact that 87% of those polled say they avoid giving personal details online (compared with 89% in 2012).
The poll shows that the number of people going online using a smartphone or tablet has increased since 2012 from 24% to 35% and 6% to 14% respectively. (SP/transl.fl)