A new study has revealed that as many as one in six Britains have fallen victim to a cyber attack.
ITV reports that 16 percent of adults had fallen foul to cyber attacks, which include phishing scams, having personal data stolen and used offline, or having an account hijacked.
According to the data, the majority of the attacks (83%) occurred to users on laptops or desktop computers, but a further 21 percent had been attacked while on smartphone and 17 percent had been targeted from a tablet computer.
"This year has proved a tipping point for smartphones and tablets. The rapid rise in demand for online banking and retail combined with very little security on devices has created a massive opportunity for cyber criminals leaving many people and businesses extremely vulnerable," Ori Eisen, Experian's lead researcher was quoted as saying by IBN Live.
This was backed up by the research which highlighted that 93 percent of Brits had some kind of anti-virus protection on their desktop or laptop computer, but just 40 percent of smartphone users, and around half of tablet users had taken their same precautions.
The survey possibly reveals a greater ignorance in the field of mobile security with just 41 percent of smartphone and tablet users 'believing they are vulnerable to security threats and viruses' according to This Is Money.
This is not borne out by the facts, and cybercriminals may well take advantage of this, with the same survey reporting that phishing attempts targeted at mobile devices has increased by a massive 80 percent in the last year.
With Android devices being common targets for malicious cybercriminals, We Live Security has put together the video below to help you stay safe with your smartphone:
More video guides for mobile security can be found in our Videos section.
