S’poreans lax with security on social media: Poll

SINGAPORE — The dangers of having online identities or personal information stolen and exploited by cybercriminals could be an issue among Singaporeans, said a report released by Trend Micro today (Oct 25).

Results of a poll conducted by the security software company to find out behaviours of Singaporean consumers on both social networks and Wi-Fi networks showed that many were unaware of “loopholes in online privacy”, Trend Micro said.

60 per cent of those surveyed admitted to logging onto social networking sites using free, unsecured Wi-Fi networks and hotspots at places such as cafes, restaurants and public libraries, which puts them at risk of data theft.

50 per cent of the respondents also said they have befriended someone they do not know in real life on these social networking sites.

The survey also found that 40 per cent who use social networking do not utilise security functions like multi-factor authentication — and 30 per cent of the respondents admitted to not knowing what it is.

Nearly 30 per cent surveyed also click on shortened URLs on Twitter — which hackers sometimes use to infect computers — without thinking twice.

According to Regional Director, Digital Marketing & Consumer Business of Trend Micro Terrence Tang, these conveniences are taken for granted by many.

“Consumers are encouraged to be vigilant and mind the things they post on their social networks and things they do on free, unsecured wireless networks, so as to enjoy these conveniences safely,” said Mr Tang.

Users are encouraged to refrain from accessing social networks or making transactions over free, unsecured public Wi-Fi networks and hotspots, or and to empty their browser cache after use if they do. Trend Micro also recommends relying on reputable sources for the latest news, refraining from clicking shortened links and utilising multi-factor authentication on social networks.