Blue Coat Systems-Symantec Security Report paints worrying picture of social engineering
Recently acquired by Symantec, the cyber security specialist, Blue Coat Systems has unveiled the results of an online study conducted by YouGov. The survey suggests that organisations are still being exposed to increasingly sophisticated cyber threats via social engineering.
The online study was conducted among 3,130 workers in various industries across Great Britain, France and Germany. Despite the increased use of social media applications both inside and outside of the office environment, this survey reveals how workers are still failing to fully protect themselves from complex social engineering techniques such as phishing (a form of fraud where hackers, posing as legitimate organisations or individuals, trick users into clicking on or downloading malware in order to obtain sensitive information like login credentials or passwords).
User behaviours haven’t improved since 2015 and, in some cases, have grown worse. While certain areas indicate an improved sense of social media ‘savviness’, others supply modern day hackers with many opportunities to exploit.