The increasing number of ways to connect to the Internet through different devices also leads to a rising threat in security. Foto: MMC RTV SLO
The increasing number of ways to connect to the Internet through different devices also leads to a rising threat in security. Foto: MMC RTV SLO

Ahead of Safer Internet Day the State Statistics Office (SURS) presented some statistical data connected to Slovenians and the use of Internet. Around 73 percent of those aged between 16 and 74 use the Internet on a daily basis. Increasingly popular is also the use of Internet via smart phones, where the percentage of use for the same age group is 47 percent. The most regular users of the World Wide Web are the young, aged between 16 and 24, with a percentage of almost 99 percent which is higher than the EU average (96 percent). However, the older population is lagging behind compared to the EU average. Only a fourth of those aged between 65 and 74 use the Internet on a regular basis. That's 27 percent, compared to the EU average of 45 percent.

The increasing number of ways to connect to the Internet through different devices also leads to a rising threat in security. According to state statisticians computer viruses still represent the biggest problem to those using the Internet. 16 percent of those which connected to the Internet at least once in the past 12 months have had to deal with computer viruses and the loss of data and time (EU - 21 percent).
According to SURS in the past 12 months one percent of Slovenia's users faced problems connected to abuse of personal data, photographs and videos (EU - 3 percent), one percent suffered financial damage due to credit card payment frauds (EU - 1 percent), and with one percent of the users children had access to unsuitable websites (EU - 2 percent).

More scams than technical attacks
Official statistics say the most frequent problems Internet users face today are the same as in the past. However, computer security experts warn that there are new traps people should be aware of if they don't want to lose money.
Tadej Hren from the Slovenian National Computer Emergency Response Centre SI-CERT says that last year they had to deal with more than 1.900 security incidents. "We roughly divide the incidents into technical attacks (break-ins, viruses, network attacks...) and scams (frauds, stolen identities, on-line shopping, phishing etc.). This year, for the first time, the number of scams (901) surpassed the number of technical attacks (732). Web blackmailing, in different forms, certainly marked 2015," says Hren.
And what are the most distinctive forms of web blackmail that one should be aware of? Hren warns of crypto virus ransomware, which encrypts user files and demands a ransom for a code key. According to Hren the demanded amount is usually around 500 euros.

Another example of web blackmail is intimate video recordings (so-called Sextortion). "This form of blackmail has been occasionally happening in Slovenia for some time now, but we did not record any cases until mid-2015. In the middle of last year the number of reported cases rose dramatically and still hasn't stopped rising. Ransom demands range from a few hundred to several thousands of euros," says Hren.
The above-mentioned examples are cases of blackmailing individuals. However companies, which provide for the security of their computer systems, are also not safe. Such an example is blackmail through so-called DDoS attacks, in which the extortionists threaten with attacks which would paralyze the functioning of the company if no ransom is paid. "In these cases the demanded amounts are much higher, even more than 10.000 euros," warns Hren.