GEC NEWS WIREAverage cost of cybercrime up 50 per cent globally; 73 per cent of adults in UAE use public or unsecured WiFi
One of the world’s leading online security and privacy companies has vowed to step up its campaign to combat cybercrime in the Middle East.
“The Middle East needs to toughen up when it comes to protecting its smart devices, and there has to be a much greater awareness of the consequences, whether it is identity theft or a full-on cyber-attack across an entire company’s network,” said James Ryan, Chief Privacy Officer, AnchorFree. “We‘re are committed to safeguarding online lives in the Middle East and, while we are seeing encouraging progress in many respects, there is much work that remains to be done.”
The call to action follows the recent release of Norton’s 2013 cybercrime report, which shows that the average cost per cybercrime victim has risen by 50 per cent over the last twelve months. The wide-ranging study also found that despite 63 per cent of those surveyed owning smartphones and 30 per cent owning tablets, 48 per cent, did not take basic precautions such as using passwords, having security software or backing up files on their mobile device.
But while the risks are many and varied, Ryan believes that solutions such as Hotspot Shield can have an immense protective impact.
“Hotspot Shield will help identify malware sites and provide a secure, encrypted connection to the Internet for desktop or mobile devices, protecting your browsing from hackers and snoops. This is particularly important when using unknown networks or public Wi-Fi,” he said.
