The Government has some URGENT security advice for your PC
NEW guidelines advise updating all your devices as soon as possible to provide greatest security protection possible.
Criminals are taking advantage of unprotected devices
The government is urging British businesses and consumers to ensure they keep their phones and computers updated with the latest software in an effort to lower the number of victims of cyber crime.
The government’s cyber-security service is urging consumers to update their devices with the latest software as quickly as possible to stay one step ahead of hackers.
The Cyber Streetwise campaign says that doing so will provide greater protection for businesses and consumers as the country becomes an increasingly popular target for criminals.
Recent ONS figures showed that over two million cybercrime offences were committed last year.
The campaign is urging mobile users to stay updated with the latest software
The campaign quotes recent Government findings that discovered the majority of Brit are often slow to download the latest software updates as soon as they are available.
Overall, 70 per cent of people said they didn’t always immediately update their mobile phone, with 65 per cent saying the same for their computer.
Time seemed to be the major factor behind this reluctance, with 29 per cent of computer users and 19 per cent of mobile users saying that downloading updates was “too time consuming”, despite most updates only taking a few minutes.
Many Brits also seemed to have a worrying lack of knowledge when it comes to the security benefits of downloading the latest software updates for their devices, with 77 per cent of PC and 74 per cent of mobile users admitting they needed more information.
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Danny Lawrence, National Police Chiefs’ Council PROTECT Co-ordinator for Cyber Crime says, “Many people believe software updates are purely cosmetic but they also address security vulnerabilities in software, plugging gaps which hackers exploit to gain access to the general public’s devices.”
“It takes very little time or effort to download the latest software updates. Do not ignore this risk by thinking that it won’t happen to you; because it just might.”
If you think you’ve been the victim of a cyber-attack, check out Express.co.uk’s guide to the next steps to take here.