Online attacks drop amid rising awareness

The number of Chinese netizens who suffered online attacks fell last year as Internet companies and users increased their awareness of protecting cybersecurity, according to a report on Friday.

Issued by the China Internet Network Information Center, the report said that 42.7 percent of netizens reported online security problems last year, a year-on-year fall of 3.6 percent.

The most serious security threats concerned netizens' computers and smartphones being infected by viruses or Trojan horses, which affected 24.2 percent of netizens, followed by users whose online accounts or passwords were stolen, with 22.9 percent affected.