Ofcom report on privacy behaviour in UK

A recent Ofcom report highlights that UK adults are risking their online security by using identical or easy to remember passwords on the websites they visit. Summarised, they report that:

• Over half of UK adults use the same password to access internet sites

• One in four use birthdays or names as password

• Older internet users are turning to social networking to stay in touch

• Average UK adult has 237 social network friends

However the survey uncovers that 62 per cent of people will check security statues of Wi-Fi internet connections (does it have a padlock?); 75 per cent of people have a screen lock on their phones; and 50 percent of people with smartphones employ PIN protection. People then do care about privacy, they recognize that the new media environment presents new threats, but have privacy behavior worthy of study – particularly in regard to password protection.  Report in full here