Security on the Net: Swiss Users Vulnerable to Phishing
Over the past two months, Google has surveyed Swiss citizens about their internet usage. The result: There is still some room for improvement when it comes to security.
In December 2018 and January 2019, Google conducted a representative study in 20 European countries on the topic of online security to mark this year's Safer Internet Day (February 5, 2019). Swiss citizens were also surveyed - including on phishing, hacker attacks and the use of security technologies. The results showed that Switzerland still has some catching up to do in international comparison.
In terms of internet security, Switzerland scores just below average in a European comparison. The Swiss fall victim to phishing less frequently (47 %) than their Austrian neighbors (49 %), but much more frequently than the Germans (40 %). The average of all respondents in other European countries is 45 %. In Europe, users in Poland (35 %), Finland (31 %) and Hungary (28 %) stated that they were the least affected by phishing.
The Swiss are more susceptible to virus and malware attacks than their European neighbors. 22 % state that they have already been affected by such an attack. In Austria the figure is 17 %, in Germany 10%. The European average is 16%.
On the positive side, the Swiss take better care of their online security than their German-speaking neighbors. Domestic users are more likely to use the latest security technologies to protect themselves from attacks. According to the study, 25 % of Swiss people use two-factor authentication for all their accounts. In Austria the figure is 21 %, in Germany 17 %. This figure also puts Switzerland above the European average (20 %). As many as 45 % use this tool for some of their accounts (Austria 41 %, Germany: 36 %, average: 42 %).
Furthermore, 27 % of respondents from Switzerland secure all their online accounts with a telephone number or second email address for recovery, while a further 44 % do this for at least some of their accounts. Austrians act in a similar way: 31 % of users take this precaution for all accounts and 44 % for at least some of their online accounts. The Germans are less prudent (23 % and 40 %). The European average is better when it comes to securing all online accounts (32 % for all, 40 % for some of their accounts).
Financial data is particularly close to the hearts of the Swiss. When it comes to online data security, Swiss users are most concerned about the security of their financial data (56 %). In Austria, the figure is 50%, while this is only a priority issue for 44% of Germans. In the UK, users are particularly concerned about their financial data: For 60% of respondents, this online data is the most critical. The European average is 57%.
