A new report on cyber security reveals that traditional "phishing" scams involving PINs and other bank account details are now old hat as hackers instead seek shoppers' personal identifying information.

According to the Norton Cybersecurity Insights Report, more than $1.4 billion was lost to cybercrime in 2014, with more than four million Australians impacted.

Mark Gorrie, director of Norton by Symantec in the Pacific region, said there has been a noticeable shift in cybercrime trends, with ransomware also becoming more common.

Ransomware - also known as online extortion - is the means by which someone's files or photos are hacked into and held until money is paid for their release.

Ransoms can run to hundreds of dollars, and, Mr Gorrie says, people have "no guarantee their files will be freed".

Nigel Phair, from the Centre for Cyber Security at the University of Canberra, said people needed to take online security as seriously as they do airport security.

"We all despise going to the airport and getting through security but it's part of living in modern society and it's something we've got to get used to," he said.

"People need to be more aware so they can enjoy their online activities."

This year, major security breaches have occurred on cheating dating website Ashley Madison and retailers David Jones and KMart.

Mr Gorrie said people needed to take more care of their passwords.

"If someone uses the same password for multiple accounts, there's a good chance other accounts will be compromised."

Despite this, most people seem reluctant to beef up their online security, with almost half of all people using an insecure password.

Most people know that their online security can be easily compromised, Mr Gorrie said. Despite this, he said there's not been a "widespread adoption of simple protection measures".