High-profile cyber attacks and data breaches that make headline news have done much to increase awareness of security issues among the general public over the past few years, but have also caused heightened stress, with 93% of consumers polled for a new study by identity specialist Okta saying they were worried about digital identity theft.
Okta polled over 4,000 European consumers – approximately 1,000 each in France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK – in the compilation of its 2024 European customer identity survey, and found that 54% of respondents had improved their awareness of their digital footprint over the past 12 months – with an increase in cyber attack volumes (39%) and growth in artificial intelligence (28%) cited as the most common reasons.
On artificial intelligence (AI) specifically, a slim 56% majority of respondents thought the emerging technology was doing much to make the online environment less safe, and 59% believed it was increasing the likelihood of attacks targeting and stealing digital identities. This worry was most pronounced in France, where 51% thought this, compared with 37% of Brits, 36% of Germans and 29% of Dutch people.
“Identity is the entrance to any experience in a digital-first world,” says Matt Ellard, senior vice-president and general manager for EMEA at Okta. “With 80% of cyber security attacks stemming from credential abuse, identity-based attacks have become a top method for bad actors.
“Business leaders need to evolve quickly to adopt a rigorous security strategy and work culture to future-proof their organisation in the era of AI.”
Ellard said Okta meant to lead by example, and recommitted the firm – which, thanks to its presence as a preferred identity services provider to many enterprises, sees more than its fair share of cyber attacks targeting its products – to sharing its own experiences and best practices to help businesses and consumers alike fight back against identity-based attacks.
“This is the only way we will be able to free everyone to safely use any technology,” he said.
Europeans doing better at password hygiene, but not fast enough
Across all four geographies where the survey took place, 66% of respondents said they personally knew someone who had their personal details hacked, and in addition to news coverage, this factor may be doing much to inform growing awareness of basic security hygiene – more people, 42%, now seem to be using different passwords for every online account, but 11% are still using the same password for everything.
Unfortunately, with the combined population of France, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK standing at approximately 237 million people, this still means that over 26 million people are at extreme risk of compromise, or to put it uncharitably, are being very silly indeed.
Okta found consumers were most worried about their online banking accounts – 57% said having their savings pillaged was a top concern – and far less worried about social media security, with only 7% of people thinking their X or Facebook accounts were primary targets, even though they are a rich source of personal data.
Workplace accounts were even less likely to be thought worth attacking. Just 2% of people seemed to think their work accounts would be targeted, despite this being categorically untrue in reality.
This said, nearly three-quarters of people said they wanted to improve their digital identity strategy and 46% considered protecting their online identities a matter of personal responsibility – 26% believed responsibility for such things would be better shared between themselves, tech businesses and governments.
Frustration mounts, but could AI save the day?
One of the biggest issues cited by survey respondents was a sense of frustration when logging into online accounts, with the difficulty of keeping multiple identities and credential sets straight in their heads without technical assistance causing headaches for many.
A total of 72% of people said they were frustrated when logging into online accounts, and this may be one area where businesses might be able to find some motivation to lend a hand, as 49% of respondents said they would very probably spend more money if login processes were simple, secure and frictionless.
Intriguingly, 42% said they would be fine with businesses using AI to make logging in a more pleasant experience, which points to one potential path forward for banks, retailers and other service providers.