More than 8.8-million South Africans fell victim to some form of cybercrime over the last year, but it remained “too much of a hassle” to implement security measures, a new report by security software provider Norton by Symantec has revealed.

The Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report showed that 78% of South Africans realised the need to actively protect their information, while 76% of South Africans believed that identity theft was more likely to happen now than ever before, though there was still a perception that security was an inconvenience.

“South Africans are more likely than their global counterparts to consider themselves tech savvy, but despite this, local millennials are less likely to take personal responsibility for their security – nearly one in three millennials admit to abandoning an account rather than deleting it simply because it was easier,” the report explained.

The report found that nearly 60% of South Africans would rather cancel dinner plans with their best friend or endure a terrible date than have to cancel their credit and debit cards after an account was compromised, or deal with credit and debit card customer service after a breach or hack.

“The good news is more and more consumers are aware of the risks of cybercrime but the bad news is they neither feel they are doing enough to prevent it, or feel that technology has prevented them from being able to do anything about it,” commented Norton Middle East and Africa head David Ribeiro.

While dealing with the consequences of a stolen identity was considered more stressful than many everyday inconveniences, and despite personal experiences, many South Africans continued to put themselves at risk when it comes to online activity, he pointed out.

Nearly one-third of consumers did not change their passwords after they had been compromised and one in five South Africans used a secure password only when required.

Further, one in three South Africans shared their passwords, particularly that of email accounts, despite six in ten consumers saying it was riskier sharing email passwords with a friend than to lend them their car for a day.

Over half checked their accounts only after a breach had been announced by the media.

Norton had surveyed more than 18 000 consumers across 18 markets, including about 1 000 across South Africa.