"Unsafe on Any Site -- Over Three-Quarters of Americans Admit to Risky Online Behavior"
According to the new Xfinity Cyber Health Report from Comcast, 78 percent of Americans engage in risky online behaviors that expose them to cyber threats, such as reusing or sharing passwords, skipping software updates, and more, which is a 14 percent increase from two years ago. Comcast's Xfinity Cyber Health Report combines data from a new Wakefield Research consumer survey of 1,000 US adults with national threat data collected by Xfinity's xFi Advanced Security platform. Among the findings is that Xfinity xFi homes have an average of 15 connected devices, a 25 percent increase from 2020. The average power user has 34 devices. In addition, 58 percent of consumers are planning to purchase at least one connected device this holiday season. Xfinity's xFi Advanced Security platform blocks an average of 23 unique threats per home each month, with the total number of attacks at least three-to-four times that number. According to the report, people continue to underestimate threats, with 74 percent of Americans believing their home network is attacked less than ten times per month. Sixty-one percent believe devices are secure right out of the box when purchased. Only 20 percent of those surveyed said they would immediately know if they fell victim to a cyberattack. Another 32 percent are unsure they would ever know if they were a cyberattack victim. Fifty-one percent of the respondents are unsure if they would know if a non-screen device, such as a robot vacuum or a smart plug, was hacked. This article continues to discuss key findings from Comcast's Xfinity Cyber Health Report.