Cybercrime has cost New Zealand more than a quarter of a billion dollars in the past year, with about one in five people affected.
Approximately 856,000 New Zealanders have been hit by online crime, costing around $300 a person, in the past year, according to Symantec research released today.
Kiwis tend to treat the internet with suspicion, with 83 per cent believing they will be victims of online crime while one in six think it's more likely their credit card information will be stolen online rather than physically taken.
Symantec director Mark Gorrie said confidence has been compromised following a number of breaches that exposed the identities of millions of people making routine purchases online.
"Our findings demonstrate that the headlines rattled people's trust in mobile and online activity," he said.
"But it hasn't led to widespread adoption of simple protection measures people should take to safeguard their devices and information online."
A majority of Kiwis don't use a secure password - one using a combination of at least eight letters, numbers and symbols - for all their accounts while one in three share their banking account password.
Cybercrime in NZ
* 856,000 New Zealanders affected
* $NZ257m was lost to cyber crime in past year
* 55 per cent of people don't always use a secure password
* Women (31 per cent) are more likely to share passwords than men (23 per cent)
* Half the population (52 per cent) believe storing credit/banking information in the cloud is riskier than not wearing a seatbelt
Source: Norton by Symantec
