Some 7 pct of Turks victims of cybercrime amid pandemic, says report

ISTANBUL

The intensive use of the internet for business, educational and social purposes during the pandemic period has created new felony opportunities for criminals, making seven out of every 100 people victims of at least one cybercrime, according to a report.

Authorities examined the changes in the internet usage habits, cybercrime risks, cyber threat perceptions and fear of cybercrime among Turkish citizens during the social isolation period in a study conducted on 649 people.

The frequency of internet use in the country increased by 70 percent during the pandemic social isolation period, according to the report conducted by the Interior Ministry.

The report also that the citizens were exposed to malware threats, which one of the types of cybercrimes, the most amid the pandemic.

Some 39 percent of internet users spent more time on online shopping and 40 percent used internet banking more, according to the report.

An increase was seen in the use of social media by 58 percent and the habit of watching movies or TV series online by 45 percent in the study conducted on the participants.

The number of users using online teleconferencing applications also increased by 32 percent during this period, according to the report.

However, it was determined that 7.1 percent of the participants were victims of at least one cybercrime during the pandemic period.

According to the report, close to 1 percent of the respondents became victims of hacking, 1.8 percent were hit by cyber harassment and cyberbullying, 2.3 percent got exposed to cyber economic crimes, and 5.1 percent suffered malware threats.

The weaknesses of citizens in applying for individual cybersecurity measures was the most important factor in the emergence of this negative outcome, the report noted.

Cybersecurity measures that can be taken individually were also listed in the report.