Poor Password Habits Can Endanger Business
Most people use easy-to-remember passwords because their fear of forgetting is stronger than their fear of being hacked. That creates problems for companies.
63% of breaches in 2016 used weak, default or stolen passwords, so companies should urge employees to create strong, unique passwords with a minimum of 12 to 14 characters that include numbers, letters and symbols.
Combination of letters, numbers and symbols: 82%,
Upper- and lower-case letters: 69%,
12 characters or more: 67%.
Initials, or friends or family names: 47%,
Significant dates and numbers: 42%,
Pet names: 26%,
Birthdays: 21%,
Hometowns: 14%
School names or mascots: 13%
91% of respondents know that there is a risk associated with reusing passwords, yet 61% reuse the same or similar passwords anyway.
Financial data: 69%,
Retail: 43%,
Social media: 31%,
Entertainment: 20%
39% of the respondents said they create more secure passwords for personal accounts than they do for work accounts.
Personality has an impact on how people rationalize their online security behavior. Type A personalities’ password behavior stems from their need to be in control. Type B personalities rationalize their poor behavior by convincing themselves that their accounts are of little value to hackers.
Control: 35% reuse because they want to remember all passwords.
Detail-oriented: 49% have a personal “system” for remembering passwords.
Deliberate: 66% are proactive in order to help keep personal information secure.
Driven: 86% said having a strong password makes them feel that they are protecting themselves and their family.
Nonchalant: 45% believe their accounts are not worth hackers’ time.
Laid-back: 43% prioritize a password that is easy to remember over one that is secure.
Flexible: 50% feel they should limit their online accounts and activities for fear of a password breach.
Preoccupied: 86% feel other factors besides a weak password could compromise their online security.