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Research: US Must Wise Up to the Password Problem in 2015

December 2014 by Swivel Secure

The United States (US) could be heading for another year of data loss disaster thanks to widespread password reuse online, warns new research,* released today by strong authentication provider Swivel Secure. The national study, which examined the online security habits of 2,500 working Americans, has revealed worrying trends in personal online security practices which are fuelling ID-theft and leaving corporate networks dangerously exposed to attack.

According to the findings, one in five working Americans reuses the same username and password (UNP) across all of their personal and business accounts, which for many is upwards of 50 different sites. Geographically, residents of the East Coast are the worst offenders, with 25% admitting to the ubiquitous reuse of UNPs, in comparison to their Central and Western counterparts, who average at just over 17%. Persistent reuse of the same UNP greatly increases the chances of the details being hacked, stolen and exploited for criminal gain. With the cost of data breaches reaching record levels in 2014, some topping almost $24 million dollars,** the US must wise up to this insider threat.

“This year has seen an all-time high in data breaches which have left millions of confidential personal details, credit card and account numbers, and corporate systems exposed to theft. Password reuse makes it easy for hackers to gain access to a user’s range of online accounts; an issue that has been catapulted into public consciousness thanks to high profile attacks on popular consumer sites, such as eBay, Google and Facebook, together with headline-hitting bugs like Heartbleed. Yet this seems to have had little to no effect on the security practices of the country’s workforce,” comments Fraser Thomas, VP International, Swivel Secure.

At first glance, the results of the research portray a population that cares little about its online security. But when 62% of respondents confirm that they are ‘concerned about their personal security online’, it becomes clear that the problem runs much deeper than individual nonchalance. This paradox is particularly evident amongst those aged between 25 and 34. Members of this group are the most concerned about their personal and work security but, at 27%, are also the most prolific re-users of UNPs.

“The so-called ‘Millennials’ are the first generation to have access to the Internet during their formative years***,” Fraser continues. “For them, logging on with a username and password is as familiar as brushing their teeth. Even for the older generations, the practice has become widely accepted, especially with the progressive convergence of business and consumer applications.

“Enough is enough. It is time to take a stand. We need to make a collective resolution to safeguard online security and put an end to the password epidemic in 2015 by embracing today’s generation of strong online authentication.

“With the sheer number of sites demanding this form of outdated authentication, it is both impossible and unreasonable to expect end-users to remember a different password each time they switch site. Today’s cyber-criminals are well attuned to this problem and have designed hacks to capture all kinds of passwords, be they strong, weak or reused, and are using them as a key to unlock masses of valuable data. The bottom line is password reuse is making it easy for hackers to get hold of a horrifying amount of very important confidential information. ”


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