Indians Most Willing To Share Personal Information: Intel Security

Intel Security released findings from its new study, “Digital Detox: Unplugging on Vacation”. This was conducted to better understand the ways consumers stay digitally connected while traveling and to highlight the ways in which they may unknowingly be putting their personal identity and devices at risk. Study findings indicated that India defines being unplugged as having ‘no electronics usage at all (39%). While almost two thirds of Indians (65%) claimed to have gone on vacation in the past year with the intention to be unplugged.

Vacations are full of distraction and opportunity, and savvy criminals have learned how to capitalize on these moments. Travelers can be targets for cybercriminals who count on human and device vulnerabilities to provide them with a point of access to consumers’ data and devices. They can gain access to sensitive information via unsecured smartphones, laptops and even wearables, while also collecting data from social channels.

“Findings from the survey indicate that a huge majority of Indians (84%) connect to the internet while on vacation. While doing so, they often access and share sensitive information without considering the potential cyber risks of divulging credit cards details, works mails and personal information on unsecured public Wi-Fi. Through this survey, we wanted to raise awareness about the need to adopt safe digital habits and share security measures to prevent personal information from being compromised while travelling.” said Venkat Krishnapur, Head of R&D Operations for Intel Security’s India Development Centre.

Findings from the survey indicate that more than one of three Indians (38%) who went on the vacation with the intent to unplug were not successful in doing so. As cybercriminals are on the lookout for such opportunities, consumers need to be vigilant and take precautionary security measures to prevent exploitation of their personal information.