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The National Institute of Cybersecurity (INCIBE), an entity under the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Digital Transformation, has answered more than 67,000 queries during 2022 on its helpline 017 and its different contact channels WhatsApp, Telegram and web form.
Specifically, 44,331 were managed by telephone, 17,014 through chat channels and 5,977 by email.
017 is a free and confidential service, financed with European funds from the Recovery Plan, which is available from 8 in the morning to 11 at night, 365 days a year. It is managed by professionals who offer technical, psychosocial, and legal advice, depending on the subject of each query and aimed at companies and citizens, with special emphasis on minors. In 2023 this service will continue to increase its capacities to increase the number of beneficiaries it can reach daily.
Since this short cybersecurity help number was launched in February 2020, the service has answered more than 184,000 queries, of which more than 113,000 are from users concerned about their cybersecurity. Thus, an average of more than 1,295 weekly consultations has been reached throughout 2022. Half received preventive help (resolving doubts) and the other half reactive advice (they had already been victims of an incident), with a small proportion who contacted to receive information on cybersecurity.
Consultations of minors and their environment
Among minors and their environment (parents and educators), the growing concern for privacy and reputation on social networks and the Internet stands out (32.4%), online fraud (14%) and school cyberbullying (10.1%). The ranking is completed by: sexting, device protection, harmful content and parental mediation, among other topics.
On the other hand, almost half of the consultations (46%) were made by families, followed by adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18 (21%), and educators, with 11%. The rest of the doubts came from professionals in the field of minors and other groups.
Citizen inquiries
Among citizens, the three issues that most concerned them during 2022 have been: online fraud related mainly to phishing and smishing (19.1%), identity theft (11.8%) and other scams related to it (10 .9%). In addition, they complete the list: vishing (fraudulent calls), intrusion and privacy, among others.
Business inquiries
Companies used this service to ask questions about phishing, smishing or extortion (20.8%), Business Email Compromise, BEC, or CEO fraud (15.3%) and employee awareness and good practices in cybersecurity (12.5%). They complete the list of the most recurring issues: fraudulent calls, both extortion and scams; the ransomware-type cyberattack; impersonation in social networks and legal issues, among others.
Finally, 33% of the queries focused on professional services, followed to a lesser extent by retail (11%), industry (3%) and education (3%). Other sectors with concerns about cybersecurity were the administration, leisure, associations, health, wholesale trade, cybersecurity companies, logistics and construction.