Brit’s fear privacy breaches despite Online Safety Act

Although the UK's Online Safety Act has made significant strides in holding online platforms accountable for harmful content, new research reveals a concerning gap in personal cybersecurity awareness among British internet users.

The study from AstrillVPN analysed search data from Google Keyword Planner to identify the privacy concerns most frequently searched by Britons. The results show password security and anonymous browsing are currently dominating the public’s attention.

Data breach checking site Have I Been Pwned tops the chart, attracting more than 67,000 monthly searches. Incognito mode comes next prompting over 38,000 searches, with privacy focused Tor browser in third place on over 33,000.

Phishing and various related terms also attract high numbers of monthly searches. Other popular enquiries include how to change an Apple ID password and private browsing.

Arqam Zafar, marketing director at AstrillVPN, says:

These search trends show British internet users are privacy-conscious. The high volume of searches for data breach checks and password changes indicates people understand that they are at risk online, but may not be fully aware of how to protect themselves.

I like to think of online security like it’s a house. If you imagine your password is the key to your front door, you might treat it differently. For example, many people store passwords in browsers, but if you are infected with malware, or someone gains access to your computer, they will have access to everything you have saved. To go back to the previous analogy, it’s like leaving your house keys on the windowsill of an open window.

It’s a common belief that swapping characters in passwords will be enough, but changing things such as the word ‘Password’ to ‘Pa$$w0rd’ is a practice more common than you may think. Passphrases are a much more secure option. If you are struggling to create one, take random words and create phrases from them, such as ‘Chocolate monster kitten’. This strategy is easy to remember, but tough to crack.

You can find out more on the AstrillVPN site.

Image credit: md3d/depositphotos.com