Nearly 60% of online learners face cyber incidents, 25% of victims lose money: Kaspersky

Nearly 60% of people who pursued online or hybrid education experienced at least one cyber incident related to their learning in the past year, with one in four affected users reporting financial losses, according to research by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky.

The survey found that 62% of respondents had participated in some form of education during the previous 12 months. Of those, 45% studied entirely online, while 40% followed a hybrid learning format.

Suspicious messages or links were the most common digital threat, affecting 27% of respondents who had engaged in online or hybrid education. Fake apps or websites were reported by 20%, while 18% encountered scams through online communities or messaging groups.

Other incidents included fake courses or education providers, reported by 17% of respondents, and malware in educational files or apps, reported by 16%. An equal proportion said they had experienced personal data exposure.

Meanwhile, 14% encountered issues with unrecognised certificates, while 10% reported account hacking.

These incidents also had consequences beyond online security. Among respondents who experienced a cyber incident, 47% lost time, 42% received unwanted advertising and 34% lost trust in educational platforms.

A quarter of those affected reported financial losses, equivalent to roughly one in seven of all learners surveyed, according to Kaspersky.

As digital learning expands across desktops, laptops and tablets, the company said protection needs to extend across the devices learners use. It is also expanding its security portfolio to support ARM-based Windows PCs, including devices powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon X, Snapdragon X Plus and Snapdragon X Elite processors.

The expansion extends Kaspersky's AI-powered scam and malware protection to a wider range of devices used for digital education.

Marina Titova, Kaspersky's vice president for consumer business, said demand for online training courses and university programmes was growing alongside digital threats.

She said risks included losing academic work to ransomware, paying for fake courses and having accounts compromised after clicking malicious links shared through chat platforms.

Titova added that support for ARM-based devices would extend the company's security solutions to more platforms and help protect users' online activities.

Kaspersky also advised online learners to use unique passwords for each education platform and service, recommending password management tools to generate and securely store credentials.

The company further recommended using trusted security software, highlighting features such as AI-powered scam protection, anti-phishing technology, real-time behaviour monitoring, data leak checks and identity theft protection.