Over 9m UK web users have had their accounts hacked
Over nine million adults in the UK have had their accounts hacked, with almost a fifth (18.3 per cent) of those questioned saying they have experienced attempts to break into one or more of their online accounts.
The research from the University of Kent found 27.3 per cent of those aged between 18 and 24 has suffered a hacking attack.
Dr Julio Hernandez-Castro, from the Centre for Cyber Security, said: “These up-to-date survey results on how cybercrime is affecting British citizens will undermine some misconceptions and make it easier to understand where to best focus our research efforts for designing new solutions to combat cybercrime.”
It was found that overall, 92 per cent lost no money "due to any kind of computer criminal activity," in the past year, although 2.3 per cent reported that they had lost over £10,000 due to fraud.
Dr Eerke Boiten, sirector of the centre, added: “Our results highlight that there is significant scope for the UK population and the online services they use to adopt stronger security practices. Cybercrime may not yet have hit a large proportion of the British public, but successful attacks do tend to lead to substantive financial damage.”