Research Reveals Mainstream Threats That Are Magnified by the World's Next Generation of Workers' Online Behavior
LONDON--(Marketwire - Jan 30, 2013) - CISCO LIVE -- Cisco (
Despite popular assumptions that security risks increase as a person's online activity becomes shadier, findings from Cisco's 2013 Annual Security Report (ASR) reveal that the highest concentration of online security threats do not target pornography, pharmaceutical or gambling sites as much as they do legitimate destinations visited by mass audiences, such as major search engines, retail sites and social media outlets. In fact, Cisco found that online shopping sites are 21 times as likely, and search engines are 27 times as likely, to deliver malicious content than a counterfeit software site. Viewing online advertisements? Advertisements are 182 as times likely to deliver malicious content than pornography.
Security risks rise in businesses because many employees adopt "my way" work lifestyles in which their devices, work and online behavior mix with their personal lives virtually anywhere -- in the office, at home and everywhere in between. The business security implications of this "consumerization" trend are magnified by a second set of findings from the Cisco Connected World Technology Report (CCWTR), which provides insight into the attitudes of the world's next generation of workers, Generation Y. According to the study, most Generation Y employees believe the age of privacy is over (91%), but one third say that they are not worried about all the data that is stored and captured about them. They are willing to sacrifice personal information for socialization online. In fact, more Generation Y workers globally said they feel more comfortable sharing personal information with retail sites than with their own employers' IT departments -- departments that are paid to protect employee identities and devices.
As Generation Y graduates from college and enters the workforce in greater numbers, they test corporate cultures and policies with expectations of social media freedom, device choice, and mobile lifestyles that the generations before them never demanded. As the first chapter of the Connected World Technology Report indicated in December, Gen Y is constantly checking social media, email and text updates, whether it's in bed (3 of 4 surveyed globally), at the dinner table (almost half), in the bathroom (1 of 3), or driving (1 of 5). That lifestyle is entering work environments in greater numbers, spotlighting the future of work and how companies must consider competing for the next wave of talent. Unfortunately, what the security studies show is the next-generation workforce's lifestyles are also introducing security challenges that companies have never had to address on this scale.
Key Findings
Android Malware
Web Malware Encounters by Country
In 2012, there was significant change in the global landscape of where users encountered Web malware. China dropped from being the second-most malware-stricken country in 2011 to the sixth spot last year. Scandinavian countries, such as Denmark and Sweden, experienced greater numbers of Web malware encounters, climbing the world ranking to the third and fourth spots, respectively. The United States retained the top spot with 33 percent of the world's Web malware encounters. (ASR)
1. United States | 33.14% | |
2. Russian Federation | 9.79% | |
3. Denmark | 9.55% | |
4. Sweden | 9.27% | |
5. Germany | 6.11% | |
6. China | 5.65% | |
7. United Kingdom | 4.07% | |
8. Turkey | 2.63% | |
9. Netherlands | 2.27% | |
10. Ireland | 1.95% |
Spam Trends
Privacy Tradeoff
Cisco considered the business implications of these and other threat statistics by examining the attitudes and behavior of always-on, on-demand Gen Y employees.
IT Policy Compliance
The Internet of Everything & Security's Future
Looking ahead, the Internet of Everything represents the largest online trend today. As more people, things and devices connect to the Internet, more data from more places will be introduced across corporate and service provider networks, which open up new vulnerabilities and a need for more sophisticated security approaches.
Supporting Quote
About the Studies
The Cisco 2013 Annual Security Report highlights the most important security trends of the year and provides tips and guidance to keep enterprise technology environments more secure. The Cisco Connected World Technology Report magnifies the threats outlined in the security report.
The third annual Cisco Connected World Technology Report was commissioned by Cisco and conducted by InsightExpress, an independent market research firm based in the United States. The global study consists of two surveys: one focused on college students and young workers 18 to 30 years old, and the second focused on IT professionals across a range of industries globally. Each survey includes 100 respondents from each of 18 countries, resulting in a pool of 3,600 respondents. The 18 countries are the United States, Canada, Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Netherlands, Russia, Poland, Turkey, South Africa, India, China, Japan, South Korea and Australia.
SUPPORTING RESOURCES
About Cisco
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