HYDERABAD: Only 38 percent of people of Hyderabad abstained from reading/responding to work emails while on vacation. This is the lowest when compared to Mumbai (41%) Delhi (41%) Ahmedabad (43%) Bangalore (51%). This was revealed in a finding by Intel Security in a new study titled,“Digital Detox: Unplugging on Vacation”.
The survey was conducted to understand the ways consumers stay digitally connected while traveling and to highlight the ways in which they may unknowinglybe putting their personal identity and devices at risk. Study findings indicated that while almost two thirds of people in Hyderabad (60%) claimed to have gone on vacation in the past year with the intention to be unplugged, 82% connected to the internet while they are on vacation.
Vacations are full of distraction and opportunity, and savvy criminals have learned how to capitalise on these moments. Travellers can be targets for cybercriminals who count on human and device vulnerabilities to provide them with a point of access to consumers’ data and devices. They can gain access tosensitive information via unsecured smartphones, laptops and even wearables,while also collecting data from social channels.
“Findings from the survey indicate that a huge majority of Indians (84%) connect to the internet while on vacation. While doing so, they often access and share sensitive information without considering the potential cyber risks of divulging credit cards details, works mails and personal information on unsecured public Wi-Fi. Through this survey, we wanted to raise awareness about the need to adopt safe digital habits and share security measures to prevent personal information from being compromised while travelling,” says Venkat Krishnapur, Head of R&D Operations for Intel Security’s India Development Centre.