Singapore may need to be more cyber hygienic

While seven in 10 respondents agree that every individual has a role to play in cybersecurity, not all of them practise safe cybersecurity measures. These were among some of the findings of an online survey* that the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) commissioned to gather insights into respondents’ levels of cybersecurity awareness and cyber hygiene.

Close to three in five respondents were extremely concerned about the security of their financial and personal information. However, the findings revealed that there is room for improvement when it comes to cyber hygiene awareness and practices.

Source; CSA. Respondents generally had strong passwords.

Although most respondents seemed to be aware of the need for strong passwords – 86% said they used a combination of letters, numbers and symbols in their passwords – one in three does not manage passwords securely, for instance by storing passwords on computers or writing them down (33%), or using the same passwords for work and personal accounts (31%)**. In addition, one in three either did not enable two-factor authentication (2FA) when the option was available, or was unsure about it.

While there is widespread use of cloud storage services, and devices such as mobile devices, USB drives and external hard disks, 41% admitted to not conducting virus scans on these devices and files before opening them, as they found it either too time-consuming or deemed it as unnecessary.

About one third of respondents indicated they did not install security applications in their mobile phones. The main reasons were that they did not see the need for mobile security, felt that it took up too much storage space or that there were too many options to choose from.

Coupled with the finding that more than six in 10 respondents connected to open, non-password protected Wi-Fi networks in public places, whether or not they were familiar with the networks, the survey suggested that many may not realise that these practices may pose substantial risks to the security of their personal information.

A majority (67%) of respondents were interested in learning more about cybersecurity, particularly in areas such as ways to protect and prevent data from unauthorised access and/or threats, more reminders on good cyber hygiene practices, and cybersecurity education for the youth and elderly.

David Koh, Chief Executive of CSA, commented: “I am encouraged that a majority of the respondents recognise that everyone has a role to play in cybersecurity and many expressed an interest to learn more about it. We will continue to explore ways to reach out to people with the necessary cybersecurity resources and information, so that they can take ownership of their cyber hygiene and support Singapore’s journey to become a Smart Nation.”
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*A total of 2,000 respondents aged 15 years and above were surveyed between July 2016 and August 2016. The sample is representative of the Singapore population by gender and ethnicity, and is distributed across age and housing type.

**Selected questions are multiple response questions – which means a respondent can choose more than one option. Hence figures may not always add up to 100%.