People aged over 55 are also going digital, but concern for their online security is not converting into care (Photo: huffingtonpost.com) HCM City (VNA) - Younger generations are spending a greater proportionof their lives online, but they are not the only ones as people aged over 55are also becoming more digital.
But family members are increasingly worried that the older people are nottaking necessary security precautions.
According to a study by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International, the majority (84percent) of users aged 55 and over are now accessing the internet at homeseveral times a day and 44 percent are spending a minimum of 20 hours a week onthe internet.
Indeed, as of the second half of last year, this age group owned an average offour connected devices per household, including two computers and two mobiledevices.
Despite the many benefits offered by these levels of connectivity, familymembers have concerns that their older relatives are not taking the necessaryprecautions to protect themselves when online, with 60 percent of peopleworried about the safety of their digitally connected elders.
Forty four percent of internet users admitted their older relatives havesuffered from online threats, falling victim to an online scam (15 percent),encountering malware or viruses (15 percent) and being spied on by malicioussoftware (13 percent).
However, this worry is not necessarily translating into action andsupport.
Only 34 percent of those the researchers spoke to have installed a securitysolution in their older relatives’ devices and just 32 percent regularlyeducate them about online threats.
A third (33 percent) has done nothing at all toprotect them, potentially increasing the risk of their advertentlysuffering a cyber-security incident.
“Older internet users are a vulnerable and highly lucrative target group forcybercriminals, putting them firmly in their sights for malware, spyware andemail scams,” Dmitry Aleshin, VP for product marketing, KasperskyLab, said.
“The only way to combat these constantly evolving threats is through acombination of increased vigilance and the installationof effective security software on all devices, including mobile ones.
“This will help keep on top of the security risks andprotect senior family members against any nasty digital disturbances.”-VNA
VNA
