Monday, October 4. 2004
People still think they're safe
A new NCSA (National Cyber Security Alliance, not the National Super Computing Agency. Bad choice of acronyms) study of the attitudes of American computer users clearly shows that people underestimate the risks of being the victim of some kind of computer threat.
Also, apprently more users could remember when Janet Jackon had her "wardrobe malfunction" than could remember the last time they updated their Anti-Virus software.
More than 30 percent of respondents believe that they are more likely to get struck by lightning, get audited by the IRS, or win the lottery than become the victim of a cyber security/privacy breach. This number increases to 40 percent in the under-25 age group. Historical data paints a very different picture:
- Odds of winning the lottery: 1 in 135,145,920 (0.000000739 percent)
- Odds of getting audited by the IRS: 0.58 percent of individual returns
- Odds of getting struck by lightning: 300 in 294,330,406 (0.0000102 percent)
- Odds of becoming a victim of computer security breach: 7 in 10 (70 percent)
Also, apprently more users could remember when Janet Jackon had her "wardrobe malfunction" than could remember the last time they updated their Anti-Virus software.
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