Are Your Emails Private? Americans Aren't Taking Cyber-Security Seriously, Poll Says

According to a new poll conducted by Reuters/Ipsos released Thursday, four in 10 Americans have started to take more caution about what they write in emails because of cyber attacks that took place during the 2016 U.S. Presidential election.

The poll, taken between March 11-20, found many Americans beginning to make changes to their online behavior in the wake of an election cycle that was plagued with hacked accounts and leaked emails published online.

Read: Top 5 Free Encryption Messaging Apps To Keep Your Conversations Secure

Improving email protocol was chief among the changes made, with 40 percent of Americans saying that have been more judicious about what they say in emails. The numbers are even stable across party lines, with 43 percent of Democrats and 40 percent of Republicans expressing concern about email security.

Forty-five percent of respondents told the pollsters they have changed their passwords for online accounts since the hacks of the last election cycle—a precaution most people should take, not because of the politically motivated hacks but because of the massive databases of usernames and passwords that have been stolen and surfaced online in the past few years.

While being more cautious about email security and changing passwords is a good sign—though it’s still a minority of people surveyed who took those steps—the rest of the poll indicates most Americans still aren’t all that serious about cyber security.

Just five percent of adults surveyed said they have started using encrypted messaging services like Signal or WhatsApp. Just 16 percent have taken to covering the camera of their computer—a simple security step that Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and FBI director James Comey have both taken.

Read: What Are VPNs, How Do You Use Them And Do You Need A Virtual Private Network?

Only 17 percent of Americans said they have made changes to their social media accounts like Facebook and Twitter to take the accounts more secure. (Reuters doesn’t detail if any specifics were asked about this, but users can readily control what content is public and private on Facebook and Twitter, as well as add two-factor authentication to improve account security.)

One in 10 Americans—just 10 percent—have started unplugging smart TVs and other internet-connected devices when they are not in use.

Twenty-one percent of people have made changes to their web browsers to limit the amount of information that is tracked. That number may increase following the repeal of the Broadband Consumer Privacy Rules, which required internet service providers to ask for permission before gathering sensitive user information.