Your Password Stinks
I know it’s hard to remember passwords. I get it. I’m totally guilty of using my kids and dogs name too. Unfortunately, hackers know all our tricks and a quick trip to your Facebook account will reveal your fur baby’s name and your kid’s birthday too.
New research paints a rough password picture. The average American uses short, uncomplicated, and terribly predictable passwords, a bad habit which only increases the insecurity of business user accounts.
In our present climate, the password is the main method of authenticating whether you are the owner of a given account or not. So, it’s rather obvious that passwords need to be secure. But new data from Security.org’s America’s Password Habits: 2020 report shows that American’s are more concerned with ease of use than an improved security stance:
- Nearly half (45%) of Americans use passwords that are less than eight characters!
- One-quarter share their personal passwords with others!
- Only 15% use a strong password generator
One of the big problems is that 37% rely on memory (more than any other method in the report) to keep track of passwords.
These bad password habits transfer to their workplace, where users get lazy with their navigation of corporate security.
Here are a few tips businesses can use to tighten up lax password habits of employees:
- Have an enforced password policy that dictates minimum password length and complexity
- Use Multi-Factor Authentication
- Require employees to take security awareness training so they understand why it’s important to have unique and secure passwords for corporate accounts and how to create one.
If you need assistance with employee security awareness training or network security services contact us at 714-970-9330 or [email protected]
Source: Knowbe4, security.org
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