If you think that Generation Z knows everything about the digital world, it’s time to qualify that idea. Young people are experts in social networks, where they are capable of turning videos into viral content and adapting their consumption habits to the latest technological trends.
However, there is one area in which they have almost no knowledge: cybersecurity. The survey on Cybersecurity and habits of use of digital channelscarried out by CECA, provides surprising information on this topic.
Although it may seem that Generation Z has an advantage in the digital environment due to its familiarity with technology, the truth is that Their knowledge in cybersecurity is almost at the same level as people over 65 years of age..
In other words, neither one nor the other show the skills in this topic. Of course, this is a fact that is quite worrying, since, in an environment in which every click counts, anyone can become a potential victim of fraud, data theft or online scams.
According to the results of the study, only 41% of people under 30 years of age claim to have sufficient knowledge of online securitywhile among those over 65 years of age the percentage stands at 33.8%.
Although the difference exists, it is too small given the expectations of the digital skills of Generation Z. But the problem is not limited only to the level of knowledge, More worrying is the lack of protective measures adopted.
Just 63% of young people and 70% of older people take basic precautionssuch as changing passwords periodically, avoiding connecting to public WiFi networks without a VPN or keeping an updated antivirus.
Generation Z: overconfidence in technology
Young people feel especially safe using digital banking, such as messaging apps or online payment services, such as Bizum. However, The confidence shown by Generation Z can become a double-edged sword.
Often, the speed with which they adopt new tools outweighs the attention they pay to the associated risks. For example, He phishing and the smishingwhich are scams using fraudulent text messages, find in them a gold mine to carry out their attacks.
In fact, 28% of younger people admit to having been victims of data theft attempts. Faced with this situation, our grandparents may seem more cautious. However, their lack of training means that they are not safe either.
According to the CECA study, 82% of those over 65 years of age say they feel safe when using their digital bankingbut their lack of knowledge of the most basic techniques to detect fake messages or suspicious links makes them easy targets for falling into scams.
The main threats detected, both for Generation Z and for older people, focus on fraud messages that, through SMS, email or messaging services, try to obtain sensitive data.
The results of the studies reveal that Young people need to overcome their overconfidence in technologyOtherwise, they could easily fall for scams, phishing and their personal data could be in danger as they are an easy target for hackers.
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Tags: security, Cybersecurity