With the digital world absorbing all our lives now, passwords are the centre of all our devices universe! Whether using devices at work or for personal use, our passwords are the key to giving us our access. But how often do we update them? How often do we use the same passwords for various sites?
With the World Password Day nearly upon us (Yes there is such a day!) we all should be more mindful about our security online, and our passwords are one of the highest priorities.
We all know what we should be doing, but are we doing it? Studies have shown that we are not.
The findings are from the ‘Psychology of Passwords Report’ This report has examined the behaviour of 3000+ people from all around the world. Here are the results below:
Globally, 91% say they know the risks by using the same or variations of the same password, but still carry on using the one password for various accounts.
Worryingly, 66% of people in the test always use the same password, this is an increase of 8% since 2018.
In the UK, 64% of people reuse the same passwords for fear of forgetting them! And to add to risks, even if there had been a security breach reported on the news, still they do not change their passwords.
Which basically means, by using the same password for all accesses to different accounts, once its compromised, the ‘hacker’ can then have freedom to roam to all the other accounts.
Why are we doing the opposite to what we know is right?
In the main, most people don’t think they will be a target. That their accounts are of no value to a hacker. But that is WRONG! Our personal Data is extremely valuable. Hackers can make a lot of money by selling our personal information on the dark web.
We think that reusing our passwords gives us more control, when in fact it’s putting us at much more risk to be breached. 54% of the tested group memorised their passwords, but obviously the old memory isn’t up to the job, as 29% had to reset their passwords!
58% hadn’t changed their passwords in the last 12 months!
Another thing that was uncovered in the report was that we use password data that is very predictable, 22% could guess their significant other’s password and 24% use sentimental information, like grandchildren names as an example.
As you are reading this you are probably realising that you too adopt a lot of these methods but there are other things, other than keep updating your passwords that we can do right.
Use an extra layer of security like MFA (Multifactor Authentication) this requires another piece of information on top of your password for example a one -time code sent to your mobile/email. A lot of banks and financial groups are adopting this.
Use a good antivirus like Norton 360 standard/Deluxe/premium, all of which come with password manager, which gives security of your online accounts, providing tools to easily create, store and manage all your passwords, credit card information and other credentials online – more securely in your very own encrypted, cloud-based vault, then you won’t have to just rely on the old grey matter!
Keep your devices protected!