Last year, 2014, was a big year for cybercriminals who stole a total of $1.2 billion, according to Symantec Pacific Region Director Mark Gorrie.
The Hill reports that the average loss was $358, says the report released on Monday. The report had 17,000 respondents from 17 nations, with 47 percent saying they were victims of cybercrimes.
As a result of the large amount of money filched, the unprecedented number of mega security breaches in 2014 rocked consumer confidence, admits Fran Rosch, executive vice president of Norton, a digital antivirus product of Symantec. The breaches exposed data of millions of consumers who were doing routine purchases from popular retailers.
Norton released the Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report which showed 80 percent of American consumers fear being victims of online crimes. Only 60 percent of Indians worry about it, although many are over confident that their security practices would protect them even if most do not have strong passwords, the basic protection tool.
The report said that 42 percent of Indian Baby boomers use a secure password and only 15 percent share passwords. One third do not use passwords on their computers and smartphones.
Among password sharers, 27 percent share the password of their bank account, while 55 percent use the same password on two email accounts and 38 percent on social media accounts.
Meanwhile, of more than 1,000 Brits surveyed, many blame the rise of cybercrimes on foreign nations and governments. Ironically, even Millennials, who are supposed to be more tech savvy than Baby boomers, are engaged in risky online behavior such as sharing passwords.