Bitdefender’s 2025 Consumer Cybersecurity Survey indicates that individuals globally face increasing risks from sophisticated cyberthreats, with persistent vulnerabilities stemming from common online behaviors and the dual nature of artificial intelligence in both defending against and facilitating attacks. Based on an independent survey of more than 7,000 consumers worldwide, the report highlights key cybersecurity behaviors, practices, and concerns shaping how individuals engage with technology daily, uncovering gaps that leave many susceptible to malware, fraud, scams, and data theft. Ciprian Istrate, senior vice president of operations at Bitdefender Consumer Solutions Group, commented on the findings: “These findings highlight the growing importance of cybersecurity awareness as attacks on consumers become more frequent and sophisticated in the age of AI. Bitdefender has long pioneered the use of ‘good’ AI to combat cybercrime, but threat actors are now leveraging it to enhance their attacks. Strong passwords, mindful cookie management, and trusted security solutions can go a long way toward reducing risk. Cybercriminals are relentless, but awareness and the right tools empower consumers to defend themselves.” The 2025 Consumer Cybersecurity Survey, commissioned by Bitdefender and conducted by Censuswide, gathered and analyzed responses from 7,009 consumers aged 16 to 55+ across Australia, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom (U.
K.), and the United States (U.
S.) between June and September 2025. Key findings from the survey include: AI scams ranked as the top concern among consumers, with 37% worried about its use in sophisticated scams, such as deepfakes. This was followed by fears of job loss (30%) and misinformation (29%). Regional variations in concern were noted, with U.
K. respondents most worried about AI replacing human jobs (39%), while Germany, Italy, and Spain ranked misinformation as the second-highest threat after scams. Generationally, nearly half of those 55 and older (46%) expressed concern about AI scams, compared to 34% of Millennials. Scams continued to impact consumers significantly, with 14% of respondents reporting falling victim to a scam in the past year, and an additional 4% unsure. Based on an average scam loss of $545, this equates to over $534,000 lost among survey participants alone. The U.
S. reported the highest percentage of scam victims at 17%, followed by the U.
K. (16%) and Australia (16%), while France had the lowest at 11%. Social media has surpassed email as the primary channel for successful scams, accounting for 34% of reported incidents, compared to 28% for email, 25% for phone calls, 24% for text messages, and 21% for online ads. Respondents aged 25–34 were more than twice as likely as those 55 and older to be scammed via social media (43% vs 20%). Consumers manage an average of five online accounts, with nearly two-thirds maintaining at least three. Approximately 32.8% have 3–5 accounts, and 32.4% have 6–9 accounts, a slight decrease from 2024 figures. U.
K. respondents led with the most accounts (40% holding 6–9), while Spain (21.7%) and France (25.6%) had the fewest. Poor password practices remain prevalent, with over one-third (37%) of respondents still writing down passwords, and 32% reusing the same password across multiple accounts. U.
S. (42.6%) and Italian (41.6%) respondents were most likely to record passwords, while U.
K. respondents were least likely (29.9%). Only 27% use password managers, 16% rely on browser autofill, and 13.6% utilize Apple’s password autofill feature. Younger consumers (ages 16–34) were more likely than those 55 and older to reuse passwords across three or more accounts (20% vs 14%), with higher rates of poor password hygiene observed among those who had been scammed (23%) compared to those who had not (16%). Cookie complacency endangers both privacy and security. Nearly half (48%) of respondents accept all cookies by default, while only 36% manually manage them and 16% reject all. A significant 75% stated they either do not read or only skim the terms before accepting. Convenience was a primary driver, with 70% accepting all cookies to access content quickly, and 25% expressing no concern about data tracking, potentially exposing them to privacy and security risks like profiling, data exploitation, and session hijacking. Mobile and device security are frequently overlooked. Nearly half (48%) of respondents do not use a third-party security solution on their phone, despite 53% conducting sensitive transactions such as bill payments or online shopping on these devices. Device protection for computers is also lacking, with 58% of respondents not securing their computers with third-party solutions, and 82% reporting the same for their tablets. U.
S. respondents were least likely to protect their phones (44.3%), in contrast to higher adoption rates in Spain and Italy (57%). Additionally, nearly 10% admitted to using work devices for personal financial transactions, introducing both personal and organizational security risks.
