According to a 2013 survey by Marble Security, 26.2% of young adults born in the US between 1980 and 2000 have had an online account hacked, compared with a 21.4% national average.
To make matters worse, many millennials continue to engage in risky behaviors online. A study conducted in 2014 by the National Cyber Security Alliance and Raytheon found that 72% of the 1,000 millennials surveyed had connected to public Wi-Fi not secured with passwords, and 52% had plugged in a USB device given to them by someone else.
Another study from Raytheon in 2013 reports that 23% of millennials admitted to sharing an online password with a nonfamily member within 2014.
Despite the high number of hacks, a Gallup poll reveals that, in 2015, 44% of millennials believe their personal information is kept private by companies they do business with. In comparison, only 32% of Generation X and baby boomers believe their information is this secure.
However, experts note that millennials attitudes toward security change after they become victims of attacks. NCSA and Raytheon found 70% of millennials changed an online behavior following a cyberattack, such as no longer storing financial information on retail websites or being more careful about what they downloaded to their device.
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