A new study conducted by Kaspersky Lab and B2B International has found that One in five Internet users (20 per cent) assumes their passwords are of no value to cyber criminals.
The survey also found that users often resort to easy ways when creating and storing passwords. For example, only 26 per cent of those surveyed create a separate password for each account and just 6 per cent use password storage software.
Importance of Passwords
These numbers are startling as passwords are the keys to the account holders’ personal data, private lives, and even their money – and if they are stolen the consequences can affect not only individual users, but also their contacts.
Consider the examples of a compromised e-mail. If your email is compromised, it will give scammers access to every account that you have connected to it, thanks to the messages it receives notifying of successful registrations or responses to password recovery requests.
In turn, a compromised account on a social networking site makes it possible to spread spam advertising and malicious links. A password to an account with an online store gives cybercriminals an opportunity to harvest financial data and spend other people’s money. However, only half (52 percent) of respondents named passwords among the valuable information that they would not want to see in the hands of cybercriminals, while 21 percent of that surveyed saw no inherent value in their passwords for criminals.
Resorting to the easy way out
The survey shows that users often take the easy way out when creating and storing their passwords. Only 26 per cent of users create a separate password for each account while six per cent of respondents use special password storage software. However, 18 per cent of those surveyed write down their passwords in a notebook, 11 per cent store them in a file on the device, and 10 per cent leave them on a sticker near the computer. At the same time 17 per cent of users freely share their personal account passwords with family members and friends.
Password theft: A common occurrence
Statistics show that password theft is a common occurrence. In 2014, according to Kaspersky Security Network figures, Kaspersky Lab products protected 3.5 million people from malicious attacks which were capable of stealing usernames and passwords to accounts of various types. 14 per cent of respondents from 23 countries also reported that their accounts had been hacked during the year.
“Even if you are not a celebrity or a billionaire, cybercriminals can profit from your credentials”, says Elena Kharchenko, Head of Consumer Product Management, Kaspersky Lab.
“A password is like a key to your home; you wouldn’t leave your door on the latch, or put your keys where anyone could find them, just because you don’t think you have anything of great value. Complex passwords unique to each account, carefully stored in a safe place, will save you a lot of trouble.”
To protect your account against unauthorized entry, you should follow a few simple rules like, create a unique password for each account so, if one of them is stolen, the rest will remain safe. Also, create a complex password that won’t be easy to crack even using special programs. An ideal password should contain at least eight symbols including upper and lower-case letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and no pet names or dates of birth.
