Three out of four online users in the United States and Europe are putting themselves at risk of being hacked due to poor password practices, according to a study released Tuesday by a password management solutions provider.
\nThe study by Keeper Security, based on a survey of 8,000 people in the United States, United Kingdom, France, and Germany, found that 75% of the respondents admitted they don\u2019t adhere to password best practices, while nearly two-thirds (64%) acknowledged they\u2019re using weak passwords or repeat variations of passwords to protect their online accounts.
\n\u201cIn order to analyze people\u2019s personal cybersecurity hygiene, we asked which animal they would identify with in regard to their cybersecurity behaviors,\u201d Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Chicago-based Keeper, explained in a statement.
\n\u201cWith over one in four people describing themselves either as an ostrich burying their head in the sand, careless as a bull in a china shop, or a possum paralyzed with fear, the industry clearly still has much work to do to get more people comfortable with cybersecurity and better protected as a result,\u201d he added.
\nAt first glance, the Keeper report noted, these results may come as a shock, especially to those in the cybersecurity industry who have been touting these simple best practices for years.
\nHowever, the report continued, when considering more than one in three people (35%) globally admit to feeling overwhelmed when it comes to taking action to improve their cybersecurity, and one in 10 admit to neglecting password management altogether, the results are much less of a surprise.
\nDiverse Accounts, Ignorance Yield Poor Password Hygiene
\nAccording to information security professionals, various reasons contribute to the low rate of compliance with principles of good password hygiene. \u201cIn general, password behaviors are terrible,\u201d maintained John Gilmore, head of research at DeleteMe, a privacy service in Boston that helps users remove their personal information from data broker websites.
\n\u201cReport after report has shown that less than half of the general public follows every rule for password safety properly,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cThe simple answer to why they don\u2019t is the diversity of accounts that have to be maintained in the modern world,\u201d he said. \u201cTwenty years ago, most people had three of four online accounts. Now they have to manage social media, work, conferencing, learning, and others. Ever since the pandemic hit, the number of accounts people have has exploded.\u201d
\nSloppy Hygiene
\nAccording to Marcus Scharra, Co-CEO and co-founder of Senhasegura, a provider of privileged access solutions in Sao Paulo, Brazil Ignorance is also a reason for sloppy hygiene. He adds: \u201cThere is a lack of cybersecurity awareness, with many individuals unaware of the importance of strong passwords and the risks of weak ones,\u201d>
\n\u201cDespite all of the information out there on the importance of strong passwords and enabling MFA [multifactor authentication], the average user doesn\u2019t understand why,\u201d added Guy Bauman, CMO and co-Founder of IronVest, an account and identity security company, in New York City.
\n\u201cThey aren\u2019t necessarily aware of the fraud industry, how it works, and how their compromised account logins are being sold for peanuts on the dark web,\u201d he added.
\nPassword Overload
\nInconvenience is another factor influencing password management behavior, noted James E. Lee, chief operating officer of the Identity Theft Resource Center, a nonprofit organization devoted to minimizing risk and mitigating the impact of identity compromise and crime, in San Diego, Calif.
\nRobert Hughes, chief information security officer at RSA, a cybersecurity company in Bedford, Mass., pointed out that the framing of the compliance question to the respondents could have made the situation seem bleaker than the actual reality.
\n\u201cPeople have dozens of passwords, so whether they can say they use unique passwords on all accounts might have impacted how some people answered that question,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cBut generally,\u201d he continued, \u201cit\u2019s difficult for users to keep track of their passwords when they\u2019re expected to have a different password for every application they use. \u201c
\n\u201cWithout using a password manager,\u201d he added. \u201cI\u2019d say that I can\u2019t believe that anyone really has unique, strong passwords everywhere.\u201d
\nMany users fail to follow best password practices due to overwhelming account diversity and a lack of cybersecurity awareness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"