Israelis fear cyber-attack more than Islamic State, survey shows

Bezeq study on nation’s internet usage also reveals children are in front of screens an average of 2.7 hours a day

By Shoshanna Solomon

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29 November 2017, 4:53 pm

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Shoshanna Solomon was The Times of Israel's Startups and Business reporter

Israelis are more afraid of cyber-attacks than an attack by the Islamic State terror group; 30 percent of Israeli parents plop children under the age of one in front of screens; and some 805 of Israelis buy goods online. And for the first time this year, Instagram, the photo-sharing app, surpassed Facebook in popularity among Israeli teenagers.

These are some of the findings of a survey undertaken by Israel’s largest telecommunication firm, Bezeq, on the state of the nation’s internet usage, which provides a glimpse into the digital lives of Israelis in 2017.

“The report points to exponential growth” of usage of the internet, “which changes every layer of our lives, personal, public and business,” said Gil Rosen, the VP of marketing and innovation at Bezeq. “The amount of information on the network is almost unimaginable, when in some cases it reaches tens of gigabytes a day, thanks in large part to the amount of video streaming and the impressive growth in the number of devices connected to the network” as Internet of Things advances.

Bezeq’s 2017 internet report shows that in the number of internet users in Israel stands at approximately 6.6 million (Wavebreakmedia, iStock by Getty Images)

The report shows that in 2017 the number of internet users in Israel stands at approximately 6.6 million. The average fixed internet bandwidth continues to rise in line with the increased use of the network, with the average surfing package currently at 67 megabytes. The average surfer now downloads files averaging about 5.7 gigabytes per day, an increase of 36% within a year.

“Heavier” surfers who use the internet for video and television traffic are averaging 20 gigabytes a day. Thirty-six percent use services and streaming software; 15% of Israeli homes are smart homes and the cloud continues to gain momentum, with 67% backing up photos and videos and storing information on the cloud, compared with 60% in 2016.

And while just a decade ago, Israelis needed to call bus companies to check timetables or alternatively just try their luck, today public transportation apps such as GETT and Moovit have jumped in popularity in the apps parade, and rank just below the social and navigation apps, surpassing news websites and popular games like Candy Crush.

Roughly 25% of youths make routine video calls with friends at least once a week, mainly using WhatsApp, while TV is losing ground in favor of the smartphone: this year, there was an almost 100% increase in viewing series via smartphones from 10% last year to 19% this year, the survey showed.

Thirty percent of parents said that their children are already using screens, including watching YouTube videos, before the age of one. By the age of 10 they get their own first smartphone.

While 70% of children aged 6-9 watch videos on YouTube, most parents (75%) of children of these ages say they make sure to limit the child’s screening time. The average time that a child of this age spends in front of a screen is about 2.7 hours a day.

Most of the youngsters, 72%, think their educational system does not provide them with good technological and digital skills, which they think they need very much.

Bezeq’s 2017 internet report shows that by the age of 10, children in Israel get their own smartphones (SvetaOrlova, iStock by Getty Images)

Thirty-five percent of respondents said they were most afraid of a cyber-attack from hostile elements and hackers, compared with 31 percent who said they feared IS most, the survey showed. Moreover, 83% believe that in the next world war a cyber-attack will play a very significant role

About one-third of Israelis experienced a smartphone or computer attack or virus over the past year and lost important information. The main ways in which they were attacked were through a website hack, a file download or a link they got by mail. And yet, just 35% of respondents said their smartphones were protected by anti-virus software, compared to 85% for computers.

In 2017, for the first time Instagram bypassed Facebook in popularity among teenagers, with 72% preferring Instagram to 63% for Facebook. And 40 percent of youngsters said they experienced, or knew someone who experienced, online shaming — although they didn’t always talk about it.

Social media is being perceived as a legitimate platform for politicians and journalists to promote content: 38% of respondents believed the statuses written by journalists and 19% think that politicians are a reliable news source.

Forty percent of respondents said they use apps for money transfers.

The survey was conducted with the cooperation of the TNS Research Institute among 1,268 people aged 13 and up, polling respondents on a number of digital categories, including concerns, usage, popular apps and kids’s usage.