Are Young Tech-Savvy Teams Worse for Your Cybersecurity?

New research by Ivanti has come to an unexpected conclusion – your tech-savvy younger employees may be your biggest cybersecurity vulnerability.

Shocked? Let’s dive into the details.

Over 6,500 employees globally participated in a recent survey, representing diverse demographics. The results were not just eye-opening but alarming.

The study discovered that employees aged 40 and under are more likely to neglect standard password safety guidelines. Even more surprising is that 34% admitted to using their birth dates as passwords, a stark contrast to the 19% of those over 40.

And it doesn’t stop at weak passwords.

Younger workers are also more likely to use the same password across multiple devices, with 38% admitting to this risky practice.

Why is it bad? Because of phishing, it runs rampant right now!

If your employee uses the same password everywhere and cybercriminals manage to phish it out just once, they’ll get access to all of their platforms. With just one phishing attack on a single account, the ripple effect can compromise all the employee’s accounts, all his colleagues’ accounts, and probably the whole business IT infrastructure.

Speaking of phishing scams, shockingly, 23% of the younger demographic chose not to report the last phishing attempt they encountered, with their reasoning being, “I didn’t think it was important.”

Why? Do they even understand how dangerous phishing attacks can be? Apparently not.

While ransomware and phishing were acknowledged as critical threats by 23% and 22% of employees respectively, the overall attitude towards cyber security was indifferent and complacent.

But can you really blame them? Employees across the globe (US 30%, UK 17%, Netherlands 32%, Japan 35%, India 31%, Germany 22%, France 43%, Australia 29%, and China 65%) are saying that they don’t receive any cybersecurity awareness training.

So, is it fair to place the blame solely on the young workforce when businesses fall short in equipping their employees with essential cybersecurity skills?

It’s time to stop treating cybersecurity as an afterthought and invest in regular cyber awareness training for everyone in your businesses – not just the tech team or executives.

Don’t know where to start?

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Peter Brown

Peter Brown is a Cybersecurity Expert and Business Development Manager at EB Solution. With a degree in Computer Systems Networking from George Brown College, he combines his technical knowledge with a keen business acumen to protect organizations from cyber threats. As an accomplished professional in the field, Peter is passionate about staying ahead of the curve, ensuring robust cybersecurity strategies and innovative solutions for clients across industries.

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