Cybercrime is a major concern for both individuals and businesses around the world, with fake news ranked as the top cyber threat, according to a new report from Lloyd's Register Foundation.
The UK charity last week released the results of its first global risk poll, compiled from interviews with 150,000 people in 142 countries.
Around 71% of respondents said that cybercrime is one of their biggest concerns, with almost all internet expressing fear of encountering some aspect of it.
The biggest concern regarding cybercrime was fake news (57%), followed by online fraud (45%) and online bullying (30%). It is worth noting, however, that the results varied slightly depending on the country and region in which the respondents were located.
For example, in the UK, most respondents said they were concerned about fake news (62%) and online scams (69%). Other Western European reported being more concerned about online scams. These countries include France (74%), Portugal (78%) and Spain (71%).
Furthermore, concerns about cyberbullying were stronger in low-income economies, due to their large youth populations. Around a third (34%) of respondents aged between 15 and 29 said they were concerned about cyberbullying, compared with around a fifth (21%) of those aged 65 and over. Women (32%) were slightly more concerned than men (28%).
Lloyd's Register Foundation CEO Richard Clegg said the survey, which ranked fake news and other forms of cybercrime as the top concerns among people, represented the views of 98% of the global population. Clegg said knowing what people think will help the UK-based organisation identify the "gaps" between people's thoughts on risk and their experiences of threats to security . Lloyd's Register Foundation CEO added that this data can be used to develop partnerships with communities and to raise awareness and encourage people to take action to mitigate potential harm from any form of cybercrime.
Another global poll published last week by the World Economic Forum (WEF) also highlighted cyber threats as one of the top concerns among business leaders.
