Statistics on Internet security
- The Anti-Phishing Working Group (APWG) reported detecting 189,345 new unique phishing websites in the first half of 2007.
- Financial services continued to be the most targeted industry sector at 93.8% of all attacks in the month of August 2006, according to the APWG.
- The countries hosting the most phishing sites were the USA (25.7%), China (14.2%), and South Korea (8.6%), according to the APWG.
- The National Consumers League (NCL), a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington, DC, released an annual summary based on information provided by consumers. From its findings, the average Internet fraud loss more than doubled, rising to $1,974, in 2005. The number of Internet scams reported rose by 12%.
- The same source reveals that the majority of the scams were related to auctions (42%) and general merchandise operations (30%) in which goods were never delivered or were misrepresented.
- Websites were used as the method of contact three out of four times, and email in one case out of four. (NCL).
- Of the complaints, 73% came from people of age 20-49 years (NCL).
- About 57% of US Internet users incorrectly believe that when a website has a privacy policy, it protects their personal information from being shared with other sites or companies (according to the Annenberg Center).
- The largest group of viewers of Internet porn is children between the ages of 12 and 17 (according to Family Safe Media figures for December 15, 2005).
