Digital Citizens had a 30% Chance of Encountering a Threat in 2021


Avast’s 2021 Global PC Risk Report reveals threats like Trojans, file infectors, and adware put people’s digital freedom at risk

PRAGUE, April 4, 2022 /PRNewswire/ — Avast (LSE:AVST), a global leader in digital security and privacy, today released its latest Global PC Risk Report. The 2021 report provides insights into the digital threats home and business Windows users faced throughout the year 2021. On average, home users around the world had a 29.25% chance of encountering a threat, and in the US, home users had a 24.61% chance of encountering a threat.

“The threats we protect our customers from are designed to go after their personal information and money, putting them at risk. The risks they encounter threaten their right to use the internet safely and confidently,” said Jakub Kroustek, Avast Malware Research Director at Avast.

The countries in which home users are most at risk of encountering threats are:

  1. Kosovo (53.71%)
  2. China (48.11%)
  3. Afghanistan (46.43%)
  4. Yemen (46.21%)
  5. Angola (44.65%)
  6. Rwanda (44.61%)
  7. Egypt (44.39%)
  8. Madagascar (44.13%)
  9. Algeria (44.05%)
  10. Macao (44.01%)

The ten countries with the lowest risk of encountering threats are:

  1. Puerto Rico (21.64 %)
  2. South Korea (22.81%)
  3. United Kingdom (23.55%)
  4. Martinique (23.80%)
  5. Guadeloupe (23.83%)
  6. Ireland (24.11%)
  7. Finland (24.21%)
  8. Switzerland (24.23%)
  9. Netherlands (24.27%)
  10. Denmark (24.39%)

For the most part, the countries with the highest risk ratio are those with more unstable socio-political situations (Middle East, Asia, Africa, and Eastern Europe). The reason for this heightened risk ratio could be explained by these users having limited access to content, therefore forcing them to resort to accessing blocked content via unsafe channels. The digital infrastructure in these countries tend to have lower levels of security, for example, ISP or local webmail providers might not effectively detect and block threats before they reach endpoints, and thus the risk ratio is higher. Finally, a lower level of education in terms of cybersecurity best practices among computer users in these regions could explain the higher risk ratios.

The top ten types of malware consumers faced, globally, in 2021 were:

  • Trojans (30.73%)
  • File infectors…

Source…