In a Europe-wide study [1], Kaspersky surveyed children and young people (11 to 15 years old) and adults aged 16 and over in Germany about their cybersecurity knowledge. The results are sobering: Many kids are overconfident - almost half of those surveyed (48 percent) cannot recognize phishing attempts. In addition, adults are hardly in a position to support children and young people with cybersecurity issues. Because 43 percent say they have no expertise whatsoever.
Almost everyone (94 percent) in Germany uses the Internet [2]. The average daily usage time for young people is around 3.5 hours. However, surfing the Internet also comes with cyber risks such as malware or doxxing. The current Kaspersky survey among children and young people between the ages of 11 and 15 shows that they overestimate their knowledge in this regard. In fact, 75 percent of those surveyed in Germany believe they have good knowledge of cybersecurity, and 24 percent even attribute themselves to the label “professional.”
However, this self-assessment does not reflect reality. At the same time, 70 percent of kids admit that they are vulnerable to phishing attacks. In addition, the respondents were shown eleven screenshots of the Amazon, Apple and Ebay platforms, which call for the entry of account data or actions; six were phishing websites. In the best case, these were recognized as such by 68 percent of young people, but in the worst case, only by less than half (48 percent). It is therefore not surprising that the majority (54 percent) have actually already been affected by such attacks.
The fact that the younger generation is at risk is partly due to their willingness to share personal data such as names or dates of birth on social media. Almost two thirds (65 percent) have already provided such data. 68 percent also take part in question-and-answer games online and say the names of their pets or their favorite television shows. Cybercriminals can use such games for espionage to obtain personal data and information.
Hardly any help can be expected from the elderly
While around three out of four young people (74 percent) have helped their parents or other adults at least once to identify phishing scams, the situation is much worse the other way around. Only 47 percent of those surveyed aged 16 and over were able to support younger people with such questions. The reason for this is often a lack of understanding, as 43 percent in this age group say that they have no knowledge of cybersecurity at all. Accordingly, one in four (25 percent) admits to having already become a victim of phishing attacks.
“There is quite a gap between self-assessment and actual knowledge of cybersecurity among children and young people,” explains Marco Preuß, Deputy Director of the Global Research and Analysis Team (GReAT) at Kaspersky. “Their incorrect self-assessment makes them vulnerable. It is therefore imperative that more is done to educate people about the dangers on the Internet - across generations. Older users also have deficits here. Parents should learn about current cyber threats with their children and discuss them with each other to build shared cybersecurity awareness.”
The full Kaspersky report “Overconfident and over exposed: Are Children Safe Online?” is available at https://kas.pr/h2cq
[1] https://kas.pr/h2cq/ Kaspersky commissioned the market research institute Censuswide to carry out the study “Overconfident and over exposed: Are Children Safe Online?” in eight European countries (Great Britain, France, Spain, Portugal, Greece , Netherlands, Germany and Italy) to survey 6,382 children and young people (aged 11 to 15) and 6,665 people aged 16 and over about their knowledge of cyber threats. 1,000 test subjects from both groups came from Germany.
[2] https://de.statista.com/themen/3207/internetnutz-durch-kinder-und-jugendliche/#topicOverview
Source: Press release / Kaspersky
Related to the topic: Children on the Internet: 20 tips for parents on online safety
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