An average Indian created 19 online accounts during pandemic: IBM study

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With Covid-19 scaring almost everyone about the lethal outcomes physical contact might entail, more and more Indians have adopted digital and online engagements so much so that on an average an Indian has opened 19 accounts during the pandemic, said a survey by tech giant IBM.

These online accounts were created across all categories.

Cyber security

This study also observed concerns about cyber security also. It said nearly 47% of the respondents in India “mostly or always” re-use the same credentials used for other accounts. As many as 17% employ a mix of old and new credentials.

This practice was mostly frequently noticed in the 35-49-year age group. They use existing credentials for other accounts for new accounts always or on most of the occasions.

“Re-use of credentials always poses a big threat to security of personal information. Due to lack of awareness, sometimes people make these basic mistakes. If fraudsters can guess, or somehow crack one password, the security of all online accounts might be compromised,” cyber security expert Reetika Banerjee told Money9.

Online information

The study also revealed a few interesting information about the habits of Indian online users. It said that as many as 49% of Indians store the online account information in their memory, 35% write it on paper and 27% save their online account information in cloud.

During the pandemic online banking and shopping or retail activity went up. To avoid physical interaction now people are using websites and mobile apps more than before.

Trends

The survey said those in the age group of over 50 years created about 27 new online accounts during the pandemic across all categories and created more new accounts across each category than any other age group.

Respondents interacted with all types of businesses/organisations through websites and mobile apps more during Covid, especially banking (65%) and shopping/retail (54%), said the report.

On an average, 3 new accounts (out of the 19) were created for social media and entertainment said the report.

Accustomed

“The big takeaway from this survey is that consumers have become accustomed to the convenience of digital interactions during the pandemic, and this trend is expected to continue even after society returns to pre-pandemic norms,” Prashant Bhatkal, security software sales Leader, IBM Technology Sales, India and South Asia, said in a statement.

The survey was conducted between March 12 and March 26, 2021.