Are we starting to give up on cyber hygiene?

A new survey of over 7,000 individuals suggests a growing wave of pessimism among workers regarding cybersecurity practices.

The study from CybSafe and the National Cybersecurity Alliance shows 53 percent believe staying safe online is possible, down by five percent from last year, while only 60 percent think online safety is worth the effort, marking a nine percent drop.

In addition 46 percent of respondents find staying safe online frustrating, and 44 percent find it intimidating, a seven percent increase in both cases. A demoralized 30 percent feel there's no point in protecting themselves as their data is already exposed, up by eight percent.

Over a third (35 percent) of participants include personal information in their passwords, and 36 percent either delay or avoid software updates. What's more a quarter of participants with access to cybersecurity training say they don't use it.

Oz Alashe MBE, CEO and founder of CybSafe, says:

It's understandable that CEOs are concerned about protecting their businesses from cyber threats, but it's critical that the growing complexity of the threat landscape doesn't paralyze or demotivate employees from behaving securely. The statistics in this report show that younger workers, in particular, are becoming more comfortable with the supposed inevitability of exposure to cybercriminals. It's essential that we turn this trend on its head.

Training doesn't cut it anymore -- leaders must develop strategies that directly address and improve security behaviors like MFA usage, password hygiene, and software updates. The threat landscape is evolving, and so must our approach to protecting businesses.

The research suggests that younger generations are driving the wave of pessimism surrounding cyber hygiene. 46 percent of Gen Z and 43 percent of Millennials admit to sharing sensitive work with AI without their employer's knowledge. Gen Z (42 percent) and Millennials (47 percent) are far less likely to believe that staying secure online is worthwhile compared to baby boomers (79 percent) and the silent generation -- those born from the mid 1920s to 1945 -- (77 percent).

Additionally, 50 percent of Gen Z and Millennials report going online regardless of potential risks, compared to 35 percent of baby boomers. 52 percent of Gen Z say they use personal information in passwords, along with 45 percent of Millennials.

The full report is available on the CybSafe site.