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Big four bank NAB has released a report on the scale and impact of cyber attacks and scams in Australia, and amid the numbers and figures is a sobering set of data that reveals the personal impact of over 12 months of headline data breaches.
NAB conducted the survey between 17 February 2023 and 8 March, polling 2,000 Australians.
Against a backdrop of increased and more sophisticated attacks causing more damage to institutions and individuals than ever before, the report found that three in 10 Australians rate themselves “extremely concerned” about the threat and impact of cyber attacks.
Older women, in particular, are troubled by the idea of falling victim to cyber attack, while young people of both genders registered the least concern. Four in 10 women over 50 registered extreme concern, compared to one in five men and women between the age of 18 and 29.
Digging a little deeper, the NAB report finds that nearly four in 10 Australians feel a level of anxiety and fear arising from the impact of cyber incidents. A third of respondents said they had experienced a drop in trust in major institutions or felt “powerless and vulnerable”.
Anger at cyber attacks was felt by three in 10 individuals, while one in four feel they are helpless to prevent future incidents that may leave them exposed. One in 10 Australians admit to feelings of shame and guilt around being caught out in scams or data breaches, and a similar number report issues with concentration and sleep, and are feeling more isolated following an incident.
That is a possible 10 per cent of the population literally losing sleep over the threat of what might happen to them financially or personally as a result of getting caught up in a breach or scam — an alarming figure.
Only one in five Australians report that the current climate of cyber attacks is not affecting them or their lives.
“While the impact of cyber attacks is usually measured in time and money lost, research also shows it can profoundly impact mental and emotional wellbeing,” the report said.
“This can manifest in several ways, such as emotional stress from stolen data and concern about how the data may be used, feelings of shame and guilt for not being cautious enough, a sense of helplessness, and loss of trust, autonomy and control.”
You can read the full report, which looks at business and financial impacts, here.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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