German Generation Z has some catching up to do when it comes to data protection

Results on security awareness of Internet users in the European Union as well as in Norway, Turkey, Iceland and the United Kingdom were collected and evaluated in each country for the age groups from 16 to 24, 25 to 54 and 55 to 74 years. Among other things, the question was how often online users are affected by viruses on their end devices, phishing attacks or digital payment fraud. Data protection platform Hey Data has also examined the handling of cookies as well as anti-tracking software and privacy settings.

When it comes to internet efficiency, Germany generally scores well in a large European comparison across all age groups. In this country, consumers are less affected by phishing, online payment fraud and data theft than their European neighbors, Italy, France or Sweden. This is also due to the fact that Germans use anti-tracking software and privacy settings relatively frequently and also like to restrict the use of cookies by websites or not allow them at all.

Interestingly, it is the younger generation of Internet users between the ages of 16 and 24 who use the Internet significantly less securely than older users. The fact that GenZ employees grew up with constant access to the internet seems to have made them somewhat careless about their own data, so Germany is only 8th in this age group. The Netherlands comes out on top, followed by Poland in second and Austria in third, while Swedish youth perform worse in the 16-24 age group.

In contrast, things are looking better for 25-54 year olds in Germany. The Federal Republic of Germany can place itself in bronze, and only the Dutch and Finns outperform it. In a European comparison, the 55-74 age group has proven to be particularly eligible for data protection in this country and is also third in its category.

In general, according to the survey, the Dutch are the most security-conscious country when it comes to surfing the Internet. According to the study, Italians in the age groups between 25 and 54 and 55 to 74 are the most neglected with their data on the Internet. There they occupy the last place among all the countries examined.

© Sergey Nevins / Fotolia

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“Even three years after the introduction of DSVGO, the security awareness of people in Europe still varies greatly. It can be seen that younger generations find it easier to use the Internet safely, but this issue is also taken seriously by the older generations,” he said. Milos Djordjevic, CEO and founder of Hey Data.