Cybersecurity companies resist not only cyber threats, but also digital superstitions. At the same time, many such beliefs turn out to be very tenacious. For example, some believe that cacti absorb radiation from the monitor, which can harm a person. "Kaspersky Lab" shares the results of a survey* on the topic of common myths related to technology, as well as their refutations.



Myth #1. You can't say "Yes" or "No" to strangers on the phone. The majority of respondents (75%) believe that attackers can record a conversation and use the answer to steal money. According to the company's survey, this is the most popular misconception among users.

As in fact. Voice identification systems are used in some banks, but only as one of the factors. The vote will not be enough to carry out an operation with funds in the accounts or make changes.

Myth #2. If the site uses HTTPS, this is a guarantee that it is official. 60% of respondents believe in this common misconception.

As in fact. The presence of an HTTPS certificate means that no one on the site will be able to spy and steal the data that a person enters. But this data can be stolen by the site itself, if it is fake. In other words, a phishing page can have a certificate, and it can encrypt all communication between the user and itself.

Myth # 3. You can delete all the information on your smartphone by rolling back to the factory settings. More than half of the respondents (57%) are sure of this.

As in fact. In many cases, data can be restored after being reset to factory settings and formatted. The specifics of gadget memory are such that files are deleted only if they are overwritten, this does not happen during a reset.

Myth #4. During suspicious robotic calls, you cannot press "1" or "2" in tone mode on your smartphone. Approximately one in two (53%) believes that this way attackers can infect the device.

As in fact. To disable a smartphone, it must either be infected with malware, or use one or another vulnerability. Pressing a key in the background mode does not result in malware downloading or exploiting a vulnerability.

Myth #5. If the device is not connected to the Internet, it cannot be infected with viruses. Half of the respondents think so.

As in fact. You can infect the device even if it is not connected to the Internet, for example, using a USB flash drive or other media.

Myth No. 6. If unsolicited confirmation codes for authorization are sent to the phone or email, it means that the account has been hacked. 50% of respondents tend to think so.

As in fact. This may mean, for example, that attackers are trying to figure out which services a person is registered in. If the fraudster has not received the requested authorization code, the account is safe. However, it is better to change the password in it.

Myth # 7. Incognito mode in the browser provides complete anonymity on the Internet. Every third respondent (32%) is sure of this.

As in fact. "Incognito" in browsers is not synonymous with absolute privacy. In this mode, the browser only does not save the history of visiting websites, cookies, download history and authorization data.

"Attackers often take advantage of the ignorance of users, including in some technological issues. For example, when creating phishing pages, they use the HTTPS protocol and thereby simulate the reliability of the resource. After all, today many are sure that this is one of the signs of site security. It is also not uncommon for attackers to refer to common misconceptions in order to convince the victim to make the decision necessary for the scammers themselves. Therefore, we always recommend paying attention to improving digital literacy and protecting your devices with reliable solutions," says Viktor Chebyshev, cybersecurity expert at Kaspersky Lab.

Marina Galkina, psychologist, Gestalt therapist, accredited member of the Society of Practicing Psychologists "Gestalt Approach" comments: "Belief in omens is an ancient way to cope with fear about the future and create a sense of security in a changeable and incomprehensible world. I knocked on a tree, spat over my left shoulder ― calmed down a little, the level of cortisol (stress hormone) decreased, you can move on. The more anxious a person is, the more protective rituals he has."

According to the psychologist, with the help of beliefs, we create the illusion of control over what seems uncontrollable and incomprehensible. This is our way of circumventing risks, getting hope and confidence. We are calmer about a possible failure and do not blame ourselves for it if we noticed a bad omen before an unpleasant event ― a mirror broke, salt scattered.

"Man is not only an emotional being, but also a thinking one. We have a lot of systematic errors in thinking ― cognitive distortions that also lead to superstitions. In order to survive, a person has learned to establish cause-and-effect relationships between events and predict the future. When confronted with something inexplicable from the point of view of everyday experience, the first thought will be that the incident has supernatural causes. If at this moment a person does not have doubts, critical thinking does not turn on, then he will find many confirmations of his conjectures, displacing contradictory facts. This is the main mechanism for the formation of misconceptions," M. Galkina notes.

The psychologist believes that we can find correlations in meaningless data and random information, and we are also more willing to seek confirmation than refutation of our views. Someone believes in money magic, conducts rituals to attract money. Then he rejoices at every financial receipt and considers it proof that the ritual works, forgetting that "after" does not mean "in consequence".

"Another cognitive distortion is the effect of belonging to a group. If your friends have shared information claiming that it is 100% true, you will believe them sooner than a stranger. Conservative thinking and traditional understanding of what is happening also nourish people's faith in false cause-and-effect relationships. Who are we to abandon the experience of past generations? Signs and beliefs have saved their lives, so they are useful to us. But IT technologies require us to expand and restructure our picture of the world," M. Galkina believes.

* The survey was conducted by the Online Interviewer company commissioned by Kaspersky Lab in July 2022 in Russia. A total of 1008 people were interviewed.

Source: Kaspersky Lab