About 10 million Italians have suffered in the course of their life of digital breaches, personally or to the detriment of a family member. Identity theft, privacy violations, credit card cloning or even cyberbullying have so far involved mainly the Generation Z between 16 and 26 years and Millennial between 27 and 40 years, without a particular geographical concentration. Yet, there is still 30% of citizens who do not feel exposed to digital risks at all.
The photograph taken by the signed cyber risk study is a photograph full of curiosity Changes Unipol and elaborated by Ipsos on the occasion of the last edition of Safer Internet Day. The report analyzed perception, risks, personal experiences and measures adopted by Italians in terms of digital security, interviewing a national sample representative of the population aged 16-74 and residing in the main metropolitan areas. The first striking fact is the correlation between increasing age and decreasing violations: successful attacks stand out in the Generation Z (32% of people aged 16 to 26), followed by Millennial (31% of people between 27 and 40 years) and from Generation X (22% of people between 41 and 56 years old). Tail light i Baby Boomer (11% of people between 57 and 64 years old).
The absence of awareness
At a territorial level, digital infringements occur uniformly throughout Italy. What makes the difference is the use of online platforms, and in particular the time spent on social network. Those who use Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and other social networks are in fact more exposed, with a medium-high frequency of violations suffered (36%). More than one in two Italians today feels threatened by possibilities digital breaches. In particular, Baby Boomers (58%) and inhabitants of metropolitan areas in Central Italy (56%) feel more vulnerable. In general, 30% of Italians do not perceive IT risk as a danger, while 17% of citizens are unable to assess this risk and its consequences, thus highlighting little awareness and vulnerability. Greater sensitivity to digital risk can be found among those who have already suffered violations in the past (64%), among users of social networks (59%) and digital experts (57%).
The ranking of attacks
From the perspective of attacks, the risks perceived as the most serious include identity theft and credit card cloning. In fact, the ranking sees at the top the identity theft (58%), followed by credit card cloning (53%), dall’use of personal data for other purposes (40%) and by violation of privacy (39%). In the last place the unauthorized use and dissemination of personal photographs (25%). In detail, the danger associated with identity theft and the threat of credit card cloning are particularly felt by Baby Boomers, who register percentages of 73% and 64% respectively. Among the various digital violations, however, cyberbullying, a social phenomenon that is increasingly becoming a typical manifestation of juvenile crime, deserves a specific study.
The scourge of cyberbullying
The data says Changes Unipolprocessed by Ipsos, confirm its relevance: 40% of respondents assess cyberbullying as a serious risk, felt above all among women (43%) and equally in the various generations, from 41% of Generation Z to 40% of Baby Boomers. Beyond the single phenomenon, it is interesting to note that over one in two Italians tries to protect themselves from cyber risk with “do-it-yourself” methods. 55% of respondents try to counter this risk providing only mandatory and indispensable personal data and 35% believe it is sufficient not to disclose their own photos or those of minors. These behaviors are accentuated, in particular, among Baby Boomers (64%), who also tend to distance themselves from social networks, while Generation Z appears less cautious in relation to the publication of images and photos, especially their own (19%) .