The Five Most Common Cybersecurity Mistakes

What We’re Showing

The most common cybersecurity mistakes, based on a survey of 7,500 end users across 15 countries from Proofpoint.

Risky Business

Overall, 71% of respondents said they made a cybersecurity mistake, with the vast majority doing so knowingly.

The most common error was using a work device for personal activities followed by reusing or sharing a password.

These actions were shown to be motivated by convenience, time-saving benefits, or urgency across users.

The Riskiest Mistakes According to Security Professionals

A separate survey of 1,050 security professionals showed that clicking on links or downloading attachments from someone that they don’t know was considered the most risky action users could take.

In addition, reusing passwords and accessing inappropriate websites posed the highest security threats.