Toronto - The next time you surf the Internet, consider this: You might be just one click away from becoming the next cybercrime victim. A new study released today from security software maker Norton reveals the staggering prevalence of cybercrime: Two-thirds (65 percent) of Internet users globally have fallen victim to cybercrimes, including computer viruses, online credit card fraud and identity theft.

The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact shines a light on the personal toll cybercrime takes. The first study to examine the emotional impact of cybercrime, it shows that globally victims‘ strongest reactions are feeling angry (58 percent), annoyed (51 percent) and cheated (40 percent), and in many cases, they blame themselves for being attacked. Only 3 percent don‘t think it will happen to them, and nearly 80 percent do not expect cybercriminals to be brought to justice - resulting in an ironic reluctance to take action and a sense of helplessness.

"We accept cybercrime because of a 'learned helplessness'," said Joseph LaBrie, PhD, associate professor of psychology at Loyola Marymount University. "It's like getting ripped off at a garage – if you don‘t know enough about cars, you don‘t argue with the mechanic. People just accept a situation, even if it feels bad."

Despite the emotional burden, the universal threat, and incidence of cybercrime, people still aren‘t changing their behaviours - with only half (51 percent) of adults saying they would change their behaviour if they became a victim. Even scarier, fewer than half (44 percent) reported the crime to the police.

Canadian Findings

The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact polled Canadians and found 64 percent of respondents have fallen victim to some kind of online crime (53 percent received computer viruses/malware, nine percent responded to online scams, nine percent have been affected by online credit card fraud).

On average, it takes 17 days and costs CAD $582 to resolve a cybercrime in Canada. Compared to other countries, the process is fast – but the cost is higher. (Globally 28 days and US $334)

When it comes to behaviours online, Canadians are on par with other countries in their online ethics: 44 percent have lied about personal details online (45 percent globally), 31 percent have used a fake ID online (33 percent globally) and 20 percent have online regrets (22 percent globally). By contrast, some Canadian attitudes differ from the rest of the world. Only one percent of Canadians do not expect to become a victim of cybercrime (3 percent globally), and Canadians are the most skeptical (57 percent) about restoring a damaged online reputation (45 percent globally).

**Additional Canadian and regional data available upon request**

The "human impact" aspect of the report delves further into the little crimes or white lies consumers perpetrate against friends, family, loved ones and businesses. Nearly half of respondents think it‘s legal to download a single music track, album or movie without paying. Twenty-four percent believe it‘s legal or perfectly okay to secretly view someone else‘s e-mails or browser history. Some of these behaviours, such as downloading files, open people up to additional security threats.

"To avoid becoming a victim of cybercrime change your passwords often and make sure they are a combination of letters and numbers," said Lynn Hargrove, Director of Consumer Solutions, Symantec Canada. "Make sure you have a separate credit card for all your online transactions and keep your home computer secure by making sure it has an up-to-date security software."

Today, Norton also released it‘s comprehensive security software Norton Internet Security 2011 - honouring the company‘s commitment to releasing only the fastest and lightest Internet security products on the market. Both Norton Internet Security and Norton AntiVirus 2011 are the only products to achieve a 100 percent protection score in a new third-party test from Dennis Labs*.

For more tips, and insights from this groundbreaking study, or to better understand the alarming extent of cybercrime, the feelings of powerlessness and lack of justice felt by its victims, please view the full Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact here.

Note to Editors: If you would like additional information on Symantec Corporation and its products, please visit the Symantec News Room at http://www.symantec.com/news.

Symantec and Norton are trademarks or registered trademarks of Symantec Corporation or its affiliates in the U.S. and other countries. Other names may be trademarks of their respective owners.

Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact Methodology:
The Norton Cybercrime Report: The Human Impact 2010 is based on research conducted in February 2010 by StrategyOne, an independent market research firm, on behalf of Symantec Corporation. StrategyOne conducted an online survey among 7,066 adults aged 18 and over.

The survey was conducted in 14 countries (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom, and United States). The survey was conducted in the primary language of each country. Questions asked were identical across all countries. Interviews were conducted between 2nd – 22nd February 2010. The margin of error for the total sample of adults (N=7,066) is + 1.16% at the 95% level of confidence.

For the purposes of the study, cybercrime is identified as computer viruses/malware, online credit card fraud, online hacking, online harassment, online identity theft, online scams (i.e., fraudulent lotteries/employment opportunities), online sexual predation, online phishing.

For the study, Norton and StrategyOne collaborated with Anne Collier, editor of NetFamilyNews.org and founder and executive director of its parent organization, Net Family News, Inc. Anne is a writer and journalist who has worked in the news media since 1980. She co-directs ConnectSafely.org, a Web-based interactive forum and information site for teens, parents, educators, and everybody interested in the impact of the social Web on youth and vice versa. ConnectSafely is a project of Net Family News, Inc. Anne has just completed her work as co-chair of the Obama administration's Online Safety & Technology Working Group and serves on the advisory boards of the London- and Washington-based Family Online Safety Institute and GetNetWise.org, a project of the Washington-based Internet Education Foundation. In 2008, she served on the Internet Safety Technical Task Force at Harvard University's Berkman Center for Internet & Society.

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*Source: Dennis Technology Labs report, "PC Virus Protection 2011", Aug 2010. http://dennistechnologylabs.com/reports/security/anti-malware/symantec/