EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
HOW MIGHT WORLD PASSWORD DAY HAVE HIGHLIGHTED A NEED FOR SECURITY LEADERS TO RE-EVALUATE THEIR APPROACH ?
Passwords have long been the metaphorical keys to our lives and therefore hold many digital capabilities that have enabled stringent security processes . However , security leaders are discovering new authentication methods to protect our most valuable assets that do not require a need to remember various passwords . A recent global study by Onfido found that 17 % of consumers
A typical worker uses over 80 work-related passwords on a regular basis – in addition to all of the passwords they use at home .
would rather watch paint dry than create a unique password for every online account they have . Issued by Censuswide , the study polled more than 4,000 consumers in the US , the UK , France and Germany who have online or mobile accounts on their password habits , attitudes and more .
According to Darren Guccione , CEO and Co-founder , Keeper Security , “ a typical worker uses over 80 workrelated passwords on a regular basis – in addition to all of the passwords they use at home .”
Despite widely recognised security risks , passwords remain the de facto standard for user access and authentication for online applications , with the average person having 100 passwords . Onfido ’ s survey results indicate that many consumers find password creation cumbersome , and widespread poor password hygiene could put consumers and the brands they engage with at risk .
Fifty-eight percent of respondents surveyed predict that passwords will be extinct within nine years , with just over two in five ( 41 %) predicting in five years or less . A majority ( 58 %) say they would use biometrics ( i . e ., fingerprint or facial biometrics ) in place of a password for all of their accounts if the brands and services they used offered it .
Fifty percent of those surveyed reuse passwords ( 17 % use only one for all accounts ; 33 % use a handful rotated across all accounts ). One in five of consumers surveyed have a core password that they adapt to meet brands ’ password strength requirements ( this could be character length , special characters , etc . – a wellrecognised best practice for protecting accounts from bad actors that use tactics like credential stuffing that capitalise on repeat passwords ).
According to Guccione , a password manager is one of the most effective ways to mitigate the risk of a data breach , with password security issues accounting for more than 80 % of all data breaches globally .
“ Digital technology is evolving exponentially and with it so are the related cyberthreats . Passwords command the acknowledgement , respect and security of a broad ecosystem – for World Password Day and more importantly , every day ,” continued Guccione .
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