A research conducted by PCMag comes to a conclusion that would be considered rather obvious, and yet is still ignored: keeping the same passwords across multiple platforms leads to cybersecurity risks.
The survey at hand was conducted in July, 2021, with data collected from 1,041 adults (aged eighteen and above) from the USA. The goal was to establish or gauge just how much the general populace follows best practices when it comes to cybersecurity. Or, more specifically, how much said populace pays attention towards diversifying their passwords. The results of the PCMag study, sadly, don't exactly paint the brightest picture.
An exact 70% of all participants in the study stated that they use the same password across more than one platform. Of the total sample population, 21% claimed to use the same password for all platforms and purposes. 24% stated that they use the same password for most things, and finally, 25% stated that they sometimes used the same password for more than one thing. Only 30% conclusively stated that they had different passwords set up for different things online. While 30% of the sample population is no small amount to shake one's head at, it's still dwarfed by the 70% that don't change their passwords around.
Before we get too judgmental over good online safety practices that people partake in, let's remember how complicated passwords have become. They no longer abide to the write whatever rule. Instead, however, restrictions have been placed by websites to make passwords more secure. They need to have one symbol, one uppercase, one lowercase, and ten other different additions. The point is that platforms don't want to be liable for someone's online identify being breached. Which is something that's rather easy to do nowadays. Cyber criminals commonly employ brute force into guessing the passwords of users. Computers take time in trying all different possible combinations until the right one pops up. And if the right one is shared across different platforms, for example even your bank's app, then we're in a bit of a pickle.
45% of the population chooses to memorize their passwords, which is the best way to go, even if it is quite difficult. Can't catch what has no physical records, right? 36% write then down physically, 33% rely on password managers, while 3% come up with other solutions. If you have trouble memorizing multiple passwords, then password managers are the securest possible choice, and should be downloaded by everyone.
Many platforms have figured out ways of making passwords even more secure. Two factor authentication is becoming increasingly common as a form of online security. Microsoft's attempting to completely distance itself and its community from using passwords, asking users to rely on the Authenticator app for logging in as a more secure form of password protection. But if you really want to keep using passwords, get a password manager, and rely on 2FA like your life depends on it. Which, depending from person to person, might be true.
Read next: Companies Being Repeatedly Targeted By Hackers To Gain Access And Additional Gain
The survey at hand was conducted in July, 2021, with data collected from 1,041 adults (aged eighteen and above) from the USA. The goal was to establish or gauge just how much the general populace follows best practices when it comes to cybersecurity. Or, more specifically, how much said populace pays attention towards diversifying their passwords. The results of the PCMag study, sadly, don't exactly paint the brightest picture.
An exact 70% of all participants in the study stated that they use the same password across more than one platform. Of the total sample population, 21% claimed to use the same password for all platforms and purposes. 24% stated that they use the same password for most things, and finally, 25% stated that they sometimes used the same password for more than one thing. Only 30% conclusively stated that they had different passwords set up for different things online. While 30% of the sample population is no small amount to shake one's head at, it's still dwarfed by the 70% that don't change their passwords around.
Before we get too judgmental over good online safety practices that people partake in, let's remember how complicated passwords have become. They no longer abide to the write whatever rule. Instead, however, restrictions have been placed by websites to make passwords more secure. They need to have one symbol, one uppercase, one lowercase, and ten other different additions. The point is that platforms don't want to be liable for someone's online identify being breached. Which is something that's rather easy to do nowadays. Cyber criminals commonly employ brute force into guessing the passwords of users. Computers take time in trying all different possible combinations until the right one pops up. And if the right one is shared across different platforms, for example even your bank's app, then we're in a bit of a pickle.
45% of the population chooses to memorize their passwords, which is the best way to go, even if it is quite difficult. Can't catch what has no physical records, right? 36% write then down physically, 33% rely on password managers, while 3% come up with other solutions. If you have trouble memorizing multiple passwords, then password managers are the securest possible choice, and should be downloaded by everyone.
Many platforms have figured out ways of making passwords even more secure. Two factor authentication is becoming increasingly common as a form of online security. Microsoft's attempting to completely distance itself and its community from using passwords, asking users to rely on the Authenticator app for logging in as a more secure form of password protection. But if you really want to keep using passwords, get a password manager, and rely on 2FA like your life depends on it. Which, depending from person to person, might be true.
