A recent survey by the Cyber Security Centre at the University of Kent has revealed that 5% of British adults have browsed the darknet, with 1% acknowledging they have bought items from it, but this percentage is much higher (14%) for 18-24 year olds.
The survey, now in its third year, also revealed that:
- At least 4% of British adults have been victims of ransomware, where their computer has had malware installed, which encrypts their data and then faced demands for a payment to restore it back to normal. Of those polled, 26% paid the ransom - though even after they complied with the criminals' demands, 35% of them never recovered their data
- Bitcoins still struggle to become popular among British users - though the ownership figures double in the 18-24 age range
- When it comes to data breaches, it is the older age group that wants the toughest penalties imposed. Approximately 40% of British adults agree with companies suffering the breach paying larger fines, with the users affected receiving significant compensation. They believe the government should do more to prevent data breaches in companies
- Almost a third of all GB citizens don't want their medical data to be shared with third parties for any reason, including improving medical care or research.
Overall, the survey has revealed that a generation gap still exists in attitudes to the internet amongst UK population.
The Cyber Security Centre consists of researchers within the School of Computing, the School of Engineering and Digital Arts, and others. The survey is available at http://www.cyber.kent.ac.uk/Survey2016.pdf
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