The UK has slipped to fifth place in the world in cybersecurity and internet privacy knowledge, falling behind the likes of Singapore, Germany and the US, according to an annual report by the cybersecurity company NordVPN
NordVPN’s annual National Privacy Test (NPT) is a global survey aimed to evaluate people’s cybersecurity, online privacy awareness, and educate the general public about cyber threats and the importance of data and information security in the digital age.
The research found that the UK excelled at dealing with suspicious streaming service offers and creating strong passwords (96%), but Brits struggled to identify the privacy issues of using AI at work (5%).
AI has become particularly popular among office workers and students in recent years. However, popular chatbots such as ChatGPT use an open network which can pose a privacy risk, especially if they are sharing commercially sensitive information. Chatbots also generate responses based on available online information and this means there is also a risk of plagiarism and inaccuracies, especially if employees do not do their due diligence to verify information.
Strengths and weaknesses
The test showed that Brits are good at dealing with suspicious streaming service offers as well as creating strong passwords (96% each). They also know which permissions should be granted to different apps (94%) and how devices might get infected with malware (93%), or which sensitive data to avoid sharing on social media (91%).
However, only 5% are knowledgeable about what privacy issues to consider when using AI for work, and only 13% know what data ISPs collect as part of the metadata. Additionally, 15% are mostly unaware of how to secure their home Wi-Fi network, most likely considering it safe by default. Finally, only one in five know where to store passwords safely, for example, in tools like password managers.
The global NPT score hit 58% in 2024, which shows the decrease in the world’s online privacy and cybersecurity awareness, compared to 2023 (61%) and 2022 (64%).
Key global takeaways
People aged 30-54 have the best cybersecurity skills, with most cyber stars in this age group. Together with the IT sector, respondents from the financial industries got slightly higher NPT scores than others.
The “privacy awareness” and “digital risk tolerance” categories’ scores are lower than in 2023 due to two new questions about AI – only 5% of people answered them correctly.
