Average American knows depressingly little about cybersecurity

This story version has been formatted as an on-air script for broadcast outlets. See the original research story here.

"CYBER-SECURE SHORTFALLS"

A RECENT SURVEY OF 2,000 U.S. ADULTS FOUND THE AVERAGE WEB USER STUMBLES UPON A HALF A DOZEN (6.5) SUSPICIOUS SITES OR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS EVERY DAY. 

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RESULTS FROM THE STUDY CONDUCTED BY ONEPOLL ON BEHALF OF AT&T ALSO SHOW SEVEN IN 10 (69%) FEEL CONFIDENT THEY CAN IDENTIFY SUSPICIOUS WEBSITES AT A GLANCE. 

HOWEVER, ONLY TWO IN FIVE (39%) KNOW THAT SUSPICIOUS SITES CAN SPREAD MALWARE AND VIRUSES IN THEIR COMPUTER.

EVEN WITH ALL THIS IN MIND, RESPONDENTS ADMITTED TO VISITING UNVERIFIED SITES TO STREAM LARGE SPORTING EVENTS (38%), TO DOWNLOAD A HARD-TO-FIND SONG OR VIDEO GAME (37%) AND EVEN TO BUY ITEMS ON BIG DISCOUNTS (36%). 

AND WHEN IT COMES TO PASSWORD SECURITY, JUST ONE IN THREE (34%) ARE REACTIVE RATHER THAN PROACTIVE, ONLY TAKING ACTION WHEN THEY’RE ALERTED OF A LOGIN FROM ANOTHER DEVICE. 

TWO IN FIVE (42%) ALSO ADMIT TO USING THE SAME PASSWORD ACROSS MULTIPLE LOGINS, AND NEARLY ONE IN THREE (31%) USE THEIR BIRTHDAY AS THEIR PASSWORD.