25% internet users’ account hacked in 2015: Report

MUMBAI: If you are on the internet, chances are that your Gmail, Facebook or Twitter account was hacked in last few months. According to a latest research by Kaspersky Lab study one in four internet users had at least one of their online accounts hacked.

In most cases unauthorised messages were sent out in the users’ name with a malicious link included and the loss or theft of personal data, the study said. According to another study by the lab just about 38% of the users create strong passwords and about 57% don’t store the passwords securely.

Industry trackers say that the accounts are mainly hacked for two reasons, either for monitory goals or for staling information. Many Indian companies have also witnessed huge increase in the number of targeted attacks in last one year.

“A third of the respondents (32%) know of someone whose account has been hacked. The kind of accounts targeted by hackers include email (11%), social media networks (11%) and online banking or shopping accounts (7%) sites that many consumers use on a daily basis and that keep them in touch with the work and their closest friends and family,” the report said.