Most people fear data breaches, but few take action, survey finds
IT Governance: 6.8 billion data records were breached in the U.S. in 2024
(InvestigateTV) — A recent survey from technology firm Acronis reveals a growing concern over cybersecurity—but also highlights how little many people are doing to protect themselves.
The company surveyed 2,500 people across eight countries, including the United States, and found that while cybersecurity ranks high among personal concerns, one in four respondents had already experienced a data breach or theft.
Despite this, basic security practices are still being neglected. Gerald Beuchelt, Chief Information Security Officer at Acronis, said too few people are backing up their data—10% of respondents itted they’ve never done it at all.
“Almost 4% don’t even know what a backup actually means, what that means. And that, that’s really, really concerning,” Beuchelt said. “Because, as we all know, even if nothing bad happens from a security perspective, you can still be in a situation where your laptop, drive fails and suddenly you lose all your critical data.”
He said despite constant reminders to update s, 20% of people are not using good hygiene. He said those who use simple s, like the popular format of a pet name with 1-2-3 and an exclamation point, on multiple important websites, will eventually have their data stolen. It’s not if, it’s when, he said.
“Use long s, auto-generated s,” he urged. “Maybe out of a manager or something like that. Leverage two factor authentication wherever you can. So, I was like, yeah, we know all don’t like punching in those SMS codes, but they really make a huge difference.”
Beuchelt also said to avoid public Wi-Fi. Just don’t connect and keep devices updated.
While awareness of cybersecurity threats is high, he said, too many people still lack a clear understanding of what safe online behavior looks like.
Copyright 2025 Gray Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved.
