Despite security experts constantly warning about the risks of reusing passwords, a shockingly high number of people still do so – and to make matters worse, many even write them down on scraps of paper that could easily fall into the wrong hands.
A new report from password management company Bitwarden, which surveyed 2,400 people from the US, UK, Australia, France, Germany and Japan about their password practices ahead of World Password Day (May 2), found that a quarter admit to reusing passwords in 11 – 20+ accounts.
In addition, a third (36%) put personal information in their passwords, information that can easily be obtained from social media (60%) and online forums (30%) (think dates of birth, names of spouses, etc.). What’s more, 54% try to remember all their passwords, while a third (33%) write them down on a piece of paper they keep at home. About half (48%) reuse passwords on workplace platforms or accounts “often or fairly often.”
2FA on the rise
Many (19%) have suffered data loss or other security breaches as a result of their poor password hygiene, the report found.
A quarter (23%) confirm that their passwords have been stolen or otherwise compromised in the past. At the same time, the majority are confident in their password practices. Nearly two-thirds (60%) believe they could identify a phishing attack, and 68% feel prepared to identify and mitigate AI-enabled cyber attacks.
Passwords for private accounts are not doing any better either, Bitwarden discovered.
The good news is that awareness about the importance of strong passwords is increasing. Half (51%) of respondents worldwide have used a password manager at home and are becoming increasingly security conscious at work. Another 45% say they now reuse passwords ‘less often’. Finally, 80% of respondents worldwide are now increasingly using two-factor authentication (2FA) for personal accounts, and 66% are using it for workplace accounts.