Recent study: Trust in digitalisation strengthens even though most Finns encounter digital scams

According to the Digital Security Barometer published by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency, trust in the security of digital services and devices has begun to rise after several years. The confidence index improved by seven points in one year and is already close to the 2023 level. At the same time, 86 per cent of Finns consider their everyday life in the digital environment safe.

“For the first time, we see several key indicators of digital security developing in a positive direction at the same time. There are also many grounds for the strengthening of trust: security has been improved in services, in scam prevention and in people’s own activities,” says Kimmo Rousku, Chief Senior Specialist at the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

Strong trust in the authorities and Finnish services

Finnish people trust the authorities, the finance sector and Finnish digital services, in particular.

In the processing of personal data, 87 per cent of the respondents trust the authorities and actors in the financial sector. Eighty-two per cent of Finns trust the Suomi.fi service a lot.

Seventy per cent of the respondents also consider the digital operating environment in Finland secure.

Use of AI is increasing rapidly, but trust in AI is not

The use of AI has more than doubled in two years. Almost one half of Finnish people already use AI services at least on a monthly basis.

However, trust has not increased alongside use. Only 23 per cent of Finns trust the information security of AI services or the content produced by the services a lot.

At the same time, trust in social media content has further declined. Only 21 per cent of Finns now trust social media content a lot.

“Artificial intelligence has quickly become part of everyday life, but trust is built clearly more slowly than use. At the same time, the importance of source criticism and AI literacy increases,” says Rousku.

Digital scams are still commonplace

Although trust is strengthening, digital scams still affect a large proportion of Finns. Eighty-one per cent of Finns have encountered a digital scam or an attempted scan in the past 12 months. The corresponding figure in the EU is 75 per cent

Ten per cent of Finns say they have lost money as a result of a digital scam. This is approximately 450,000 people. Almost one third of those who have lost money say that scams have caused significant financial concerns to them. This may be up to about 135,000 Finns. Private individuals are estimated to have lost approximately EUR 128 million.

“The prevalence of digital scams in Finland can be partly explained by the high level of digitalisation in our society: we have a comprehensive and well-functioning digital infrastructure, almost everyone uses some kind of smart device, and electronic services and payment systems are used widely. In addition, the population’s digital competence and language proficiency are at a good level. These factors also make Finland an attractive target for international cybercrime,” says Rousku.

Digital crisis resilience of Finns has improved

The Digital Security Barometer provides a more positive picture of the digital crisis resilience of Finns, however. The threats have not disappeared, but people’s abilities to identify them and protect themselves from them seem to have improved.

Furthermore, it has been possible to limit the operation of cybercriminals in Finland by technical means through wide-ranging cooperation between the authorities and the business sector. 

“The financial sector, telecommunications operators and the authorities have developed solutions that can, for example, prevent access to scam websites that have been set up by criminals and make it more difficult to falsify and use SMS sender IDs in scams,” explains Rousku.