Karpersky: Being tech-savvy doesn’t make you immune to cyber threats

Think you’re safe from cyber threats just because you’re tech-savvy? Think again.

A new Karpersky survey has found that people working in technical roles are less likely to encounter common scams. However, they face greater exposure to threats such as malware, AI-powered scams and deepfakes.

Interestingly, the survey also found that cybersecurity professionals aren’t necessarily safer than people working in non-technical fields.

What bugs us vs. What we actually fall for

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Across the total sample population, Kaspersky found that everyday digital nuisances represented the most frequently reported incidents. Fraudulent calls and SMS topped the list at 40.9%, followed closely by spam at 40.4% and unwanted advertising at 25.5%.

Despite the high prevalence of these low-level disruptions, respondents cited hard-to-detect threats as their primary security concerns. Specifically, 45.6% expressed worry over data leakage, 44.6% feared social media account compromise, and 38.1% were concerned about personal data theft.

How technical expertise shifts the threat landscape

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Kaspersky’s research highlights that technical fluency alters the types of attacks an individual faces rather than lowering their overall risk. IT security specialists, software developers, and technical support staff experienced lower rates of standard scams compared to non-technical professionals.

Fraudulent calls affected 36.3% of technical workers versus 42.7% of non-technical workers, while spam hit 37.1% of technical roles compared to 41.3% of non-technical roles.

Despite facing fewer basic threats, technical workers reported a higher overall incident rate at 86% compared to 84.1% for non-technical workers. This increase is driven by higher exposure to sophisticated vectors such as malware at 11.3% versus 8.5%, AI-driven fraud and deepfakes at 9.0% versus 6.3% and smart-device attacks at 6.8% versus 4.1%.

IT security personnel specifically logged an overall incident rate of 85.6%, even while encountering basic spam and scam calls at rates roughly 25% below average.

Changing habits instead of adopting security tools

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After experiencing an incident, most people changed their behavior instead of adopting security tools. While 44.7% stopped answering unknown callers and 36.5% avoided untrusted websites, only 30.1% enabled multi-factor authentication and just 24.3% installed security software.

Response strategies also varied by industry. Marketing professionals faced the highest number of distinct threats types at 4.57, compared to the 3.72 average. They were also the most active in changing habits, such as avoiding public Wi-Fi for transactions at 42.4% versus 24.1% overall, changing passwords more often at 41.0% versus 26.8% overall, and backing up data at 33.1% versus 23.0% overall.

Corporate risk, legal, and compliance professionals reported the highest overall incident rate at 89.7%. Despite high exposure, they relied on basic habits like screening calls and updating passwords rather than using advanced security tools. Administration and business support roles recorded the lowest incident rate at 82%.

How can you protect yourself?

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Kaspersky experts recommend core steps that apply to all professions, such as turning on multi-factor authentication wherever it’s offered, avoid reusing the same password across accounts, and using Password Manager to keep all credentials safe.

Vladimir Dashchenko, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky, said, “What this study makes is that there’s no single way to stay safe online, the right habits and the right protection depend on how people actually live and work.” He added, “Marketing professionals, compliance specialists, IT experts and everyone in between face a different mix of risks, so cybersecurity daily habits, rather than expecting everyone to be equally vigilant about everything. As scams become more diverse and increasingly powered by AI, our aim is to make that adaptive, automatic protection available to everyone, covering people’s everyday digital activity across every device, so they can focus on their lives rather than on spotting every red flag.”

To stay safe online, users need a right combination of good security habits and appropriate security tools. Regardless of which professional or level of technical knowledge, users should always take proactive steps to protect their personal data, devices and online accounts.

The findings stem from a March 2026 Kaspersky survey of 7,200 respondents across 18 countries, including Brazil, China, India, Germany, Mexico and Vietnam, underscoring that these security challenges span professions and borders alike.