Kaspersky: 61 Percent Of People Are Worried About Abuse Of Online Identity From People Who Have Died

Digital identity illustration (photo: Kaspersky)

JAKARTA - The 2024 Digital Global Review Report conducted by Kepios revealed that 95 percent of internet users now use social media every month, with 282 million new identities joining between July 2023 and July 2024.

Along with the increasing number of people interacting online and their digital footprint widespread, concerns over privacy, relics, and the use of ethical digital identities are becoming increasingly important.

This fact was later proven through a recent study conducted by Kaspersky entitled Excitement, Superstition, and Great Insecurity How Global Consumers Engage with the Digital World.

Where this study reveals there are as many as 61 percent of consumers believe that the identity of a person who has died is very vulnerable to identity theft, because often no one monitors what happens to information uploaded online.

But, on the other hand, there were more than half of respondents or 58 percent agreed that the presence of people who had died online could be re-created using AI.

Attitudes on this matter also vary, where 35 percent of respondents believe and can accept the re-creation of a person's digital identity who has died through photos, videos, or other memories, but 38 percent of other respondents disagree with this.

Interestingly, 67 percent of respondents believe that looking at pictures or stories about people who have died can make people closest to them feel uncomfortable.

However, 43 percent of consumers believe there is no time limit to viewing any images, videos, or voice recordings that have been published online related to certain people.

Given the risk of misappropriation of this identity, Anna Larkina, a web content analysis expert at Kaspersky believes that the wise step that can be taken is to increase privacy and protect digital identity.