Brits dropped to 5th place in the world in terms of cybersecurity knowledge
A new study shows that the world’s online privacy and cybersecurity awareness continue to worsen, and Brits follow the path
According to new research by the cybersecurity company NordVPN, Brits dropped from 4th to 5th place in the world in terms of cybersecurity and internet privacy knowledge Compared to last year. They excelled at dealing with suspicious streaming service offers as well as creating strong passwords (96% both) but struggled to identify the privacy issues of using AI at work (5%).
“Technological advancements might be overwhelming for some people, which may make them struggle to keep up. Convenience-driven online applications become more ingrained in our daily lives, and people often prioritize ease of use over privacy, unintentionally exposing themselves to risks. Even though it’s concerning to see a decline in global internet privacy awareness, this trend only confirms the growing need for more education in protecting our personal data online,” says Marijus Briedis, chief technology officer (CTO) at NordVPN.
In addition to being good at dealing with suspicious streaming service offers as well as creating strong passwords (96% each), brits are also know which permissions should be granted to different apps (94%) and how devices might get infected with malware (93%), or which sensitive data to avoid sharing on social media (91%).
However, only 5% of Brits are knowledgeable about what privacy issues to consider when using AI for work, and only 13% know what data ISPs collect as part of the metadata. Additionally, Brits are mostly unaware (15%) of how to secure their home Wi-Fi network, most likely considering it safe by default. Finally, only one in five Brits know where to store passwords safely, for example, in tools like password managers.
Compared to 2023, less Brits understand the security benefits of updating apps as soon as the update is available. While in 2023, 71% said they update an app as soon as an update is available, this year, it’s 58%. However, more Brits are aware of how to deal with phishing attacks (60% in 2023 vs. 68% in 2024).
According to the National Privacy Test, Singapore ranks first (62/100) among all countries, while Finland and Lithuania (61/100) share the second place, and Germany and The United States stand third (60/100). However, this year’s results showed that the world’s online privacy and cybersecurity awareness have continued declining over the last few years. This year, the total global score of the National Privacy Test was 58 points out of 100, compared to 61 last year.
Methodology: The National Privacy Test is an open-access survey, allowing anyone from around the world to take the test and compare their own results with the global ones. In 2024, 25,567 respondents from 181 countries answered 23 questions that evaluated their online privacy skills and knowledge. The 2024 data is analyzed as of 07/17/2024 and presented in the report. If there is a difference with the webpage results, it means more people participated since July 17 and the result has slightly changed. Additionally, the analysis of 2023 takes into consideration the full 2023 data. Last year’s communication analyzed only the interim results up to July 19, 2023.
