Global cybersecurity leaders may not be practicing what they preach
after new research revealed that many are engaging in risky behavior
online.

Constella Intelligence polled over 100 global IT security bosses
across multiple verticals to compile its latest report, Cyber Risk in
Today�s Hyperconnected World.

It revealed widespread poor security practice: a quarter (24%)
admitted to using the same passwords across work and personal use and
nearly half (45%) connect to public Wi-Fi without using a VPN.

Public Wi-Fi is thought to be so dangerous that the FBI regularly
warns the public not to connect when out-and-about.

A similar number (48%) of CISO respondents said they use their work
computer to log-in to social networking sites and 77% accept friend
requests from people they don�t know, including LinkedIn (63%).

According to MI5, foreign spies have contacted over 10,000 British
citizens via LinkedIn over the past five years, using fake profiles.

�The consequences of engaging with these profiles can damage
individual careers, as well as the interests of your organization, and
the interests of UK national security and prosperity," the government
said in a recent awareness campaign.

Security leaders continue to engage in risky behavior even though
attacks targeting them increase.

Over half (57%) have suffered an account takeover (ATO) attack in
their personal lives � mainly through email (52%) LinkedIn (31%) and
Facebook (26%). Nearly three-quarters (74%) said they�d been targeted
by a phishing or vishing attack in the past 90 days. In a third (34%)
of cases, threat actors impersonated their CEO, according to the
report.

�Amidst the rise in cyber-attacks on organizations, many of which are
perpetrated through C-suite impersonations, employee cybersecurity
awareness is now arguably as important as an organization�s security
infrastructure,� said Constella Intelligence CEO Kailash Ambwani.

�As the professional and personal spheres become increasingly
digitally intertwined, both leaders and employees must pay close
attention to the role each one of us plays in collective cybersecurity
hygiene.�