Making and remembering long, complicated passwords is hard for many individuals, and it is made even more difficult because of the need to make passwords to protect several accounts – A study by NordPass advises the average person has about 100 passwords. A lot of individuals struggle to create and recall multiple strong and unique passwords, therefore with a lot of accounts to keep safe it is not surprising that people are cutting corners, nevertheless, those password management solutions make password security weak.
It is usual for users to not make unique passwords and utilize the same password for several accounts, however when one password is compromised, either by means of brute force tactics, a phishing scam, or another method, all other accounts that utilize that password are in danger. Altering passwords a bit by including a number or substituting characters for various accounts isn’t much more secure, and will leave accounts vulnerable to brute force attacks, and recording passwords is in no way a good strategy.
Numerous companies have applied minimum complexity criteria for passwords, demanding a minimum password length and structure requirements, yet it is typical for workers to take shortcuts to make passwords simpler to remember. It is possible to create a password that satisfies minimum complexity specifications however is still very weak.
Global Password Management Survey Reveals Weak Password Management Practices
The 2022 Global Password Management Survey carried out by Bitwarden, a password management solution provider, has shown the password habits of U.S. citizens. Although it is reassuring that 98% of Americans stated they were very or considerably familiar with password security guidelines, it is an issue that 31% have encountered a data breach in the past 18 months. That is most likely no surprise looking at the survey revealed that 85% of U.S. citizens reuse passwords on several websites.
60% state the average length of their password length is from 9 to 15 characters (the starting point for a safe password is now thought to be 14 characters) and 49% of the American people mentioned they count on their memory for managing passwords, which indicates that passwords may not be particularly strong. That is obviously not the best strategy since 24% of U.S. survey respondents mentioned they have to reset at least one password daily or a number of times a week. 32% log their passwords, 23% shop them in a document on their computer, and 20% save them in email accounts.
Just 30% employ a password manager, which is extensively regarded as the best tool for creating strong passwords and keeping them securely. Password managers have strong password generators that could be employed to make really random strings of characters for passwords that are resilient to brute force attacks and keep passwords within an encrypted vault.
In spite of password managers giving organizations a simple way to boost password security, merely 32% of Americans stated they need to use a password manager at work, even though 68% of Americans believe their company ought to offer a password manager for use in the office.
Tips for Password Safety and Management
World Password Day 2022 is the right time to evaluate password safety and do something to make sure that all accounts are correctly secured with strong and unique
passwords, and start adopting password recommendations:
- Make sure to set a strong, unique password for all accounts
- Utilize a mix of lower- and upper-case letters, numbers, and symbols in
passwords - Make use of quick to recall passphrases instead of passwords, that have got a
minimum of 14 characters - Never use passwords again on many accounts
- Don’t use data in passwords that may be seen on social media profiles
(date of birth, spouse or name of a pet, etc.) or is known to other people - Be sure 2-factor authentication is in place, particularly for accounts comprising
sensitive data - Utilize a secure password generator to create random characters
- Don’t use dictionary words and frequently used passwords
- Make use of a password manager for making strong passwords and safe storage, and your password vault must have a long and complex passphrase.