Have you ever reused a password? If so, you’re not alone.
Though many people know that reusing passwords or a variation of a password is a bad practice, they continue to do so.
Check out these password statistics to learn more about password security, plus tips on how to create stronger passwords.
12 Password Statistics
- A 2019 study found that the average person juggles 70-80 passwords across multiple accounts. (NordPass)
- Even though 92% of people know that using a variation of the same password is a risk, 65% always or mostly use the same password or a variation. (LastPass)
- 51% of individuals say they use their personal mobile device to access work-related items, and of those respondents, 56% do not use two-factor authentication (2FA). (Yubico and Ponemon Institute)
- Using multi-factor authentication (MFA) makes your account 99.9% less likely to be compromised. (Microsoft)
- Only 35% of employers surveyed said they made employees update their passwords more regularly when working remotely. (LastPass)
- A 12-character password takes 62 trillion times longer to crack than a six-character password. (Scientific American)
- 57% of respondents admit to writing down work-related online passwords on sticky notes, with 67% of those admitting to having lost these notes. (Keeper Security)
- 30% of respondents (IT experts, employees, and heads of organizations) said they have experienced a security breach due to weak passwords. (GoodFirms)
- 45% of survey respondents did not change their passwords in the past year even after a breach had occurred. (LastPass)
- Of passwords recovered from breaches in 2020, 60% of victims had reused at least one password across multiple platforms. (InfoSecurity)
- 59% of IT security professionals report that their company relies on human memory to manage passwords. (Yubico and Ponemon Institute)
- The most common password of 2021 was “123456,” which would take hackers less than one second to crack. (NordPass)
Tips for Improving Password Hygiene
See the tips below for leveling up your password hygiene.
Consider Password Entropy
Password entropy is a measure of password strength, which can help you determine if a password is easily hackable.
Improve password entropy by:
- Creating longer passwords with eight characters or more
- Using a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters
- Assigning passwords to employees
- Creating a list of insecure passwords that are unable to be used for workplace credentials
Use Random Passwords
Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts whenever possible. If you don’t, hackers will have a much easier time hacking into multiple accounts.
This means using random passwords for every account, without using even slight variations of a password.
Be Aware of Remote Risk Factors
Working remotely is another thing to consider when it comes to password safety. Storing sensitive information and login credentials on a personal device used for work or on a work-issued device that operates on a personal network can be risky.
Make sure your Wi-Fi network is secure, don’t share passwords with anyone, and change your passwords regularly.
Enable Multi-Factor Authentication
One way to increase security is by adding two- or multi-factor authentication to your password management. Both of these strategies require a user to verify their identity in more than one way, like with a text code or facial recognition.
Try a Password Manager
Sticky notes or memory aren’t enough to keep track of your passwords. A password manager like LastPass or NordPass is a safe way to conveniently store your passwords for all of your accounts in one place.
You can also securely share credentials with other employees and monitor who has access to certain credentials within the password manager.
The Bottom Line
Password security is an incredibly important part of a company’s overall security status. Be sure to review these tips and enforce password best practices on a regular basis. Learn more about online security at Secureframe.com.
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