Ride the Lightning

Say It Ain’t So! 59% of People Say They Use the Same Password Everywhere

May 7, 2018

A Hot for Security post from Bitdefender reports on a survey of 2000 users by the password management experts at LogMeIn. 91 percent of people know that password recycling poses huge security risks, yet 59 percent still use the same password everywhere.

They know better but they do it. The number one reason for password reuse is fear of forgetfulness. If I was afraid of forgetfulness, I wouldn't get up in the morning. Number two was wanting to know and be in control of all their passwords, which is certainly made simpler by only having one. Good heavens.

And in bad news for businesses, 47 percent say there is no difference in passwords created for personal and work accounts. Only 19 percent are more careful with their work login details, and 38 percent never use the same password for work and personal accounts. Unfortunately, the other 62% percent do.

72% feel well informed on password best practices (though the survey results don't bear that out), but 64 percent of those also prefer a password that's easy to remember, and they admitted they always choose convenience over security. That part is certainly not news. While 91 percent are aware of the risks of password recycling, 58 percent generally or always use the same password or a similar variation of that password for most of their online accounts.

What is it that Forrest Gump said? Stupid is as stupid does.

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