About a third (32%) of consumers who share an internet-enabled device with their relatives, colleagues or friends do not take any precautions to protect their information, according to a joint survey by B2B International and Kaspersky Lab.
These respondents see no risks associated with sharing these devices even though it can significantly increase the chances of data stored on the device being lost or stolen.
Kaspersky Lab says that, in fact, the more people use a device, the greater the probability of one of them making a mistake and falling for a cybercriminal trick.
Of those polled, 28% share devices with other adults in their household, 5% give them to their children, while 1% even allow colleagues and other acquaintances to use their devices.
This applies to the devices which are most often used to access the internet, which means they are most likely to hold valuable data, such as account logins and passwords.
Only 33% of users make backup copies of important data before giving a device to somebody else, 32% password-protect their data and 22% try not to store any important information on such devices.
“Always keep backup copies of important files; delete information that should not fall into the wrong hands, especially by disabling form autofill; try to control user access rights on the device and – most importantly – use programs that provide protection against cyberthreats,” said Elena Kharchenko, head of consumer product management at Kaspersky Lab.