Being told to keep passwords safe has become a bit like flossing teeth for many of us – we KNOW we’re not supposed to use the same password for all websites and accounts and we KNOW we’re not supposed to share passwords with others. But yet we still do it.
How common is it for people to share passwords? A study conducted by software security firm LastPass shows the majority of us “are either ignoring the risks when it comes to password sharing, or aren’t taking care to make sure that the passwords we share are as secure as possible.”
Take a guess how many websites are hacked DAILY. Try 30,000. Each day! Many of these websites have stored emails and passwords that are then sold on the black market. It’s a very real threat.
So why aren’t we more careful? Mostly because of convenience – but sometimes also out of necessity. Most people work with teams (or clients) that require access to accounts. Many of us also have significant others who expect us to share access to their financial accounts.
Take a look for yourself at the infographic LastPass created that provides even more details about their study. Here are a few of our favorite discoveries:
- 73% of users admit that sharing passwords is risky, and yet…
- 95% of respondents share up to 6 passwords with others.
- 59% re-use passwords on different accounts.
- 40% of those age 18-29 trust friends with their passwords – only 6% of those age 45-59 feel the same way.
The takeaway? It’s worth the time and investment to protect your passwords as much as possible. And LastPass is one of the better solutions available to help safely and securely store all passwords in a single location (it works using your browser). This means you can create as many different passwords as you want – LastPass will remember them all. You just have to make sure the password you create for LastPass is truly unique! The company also provides enterprise services that allow for additional security and password management among multiple users.
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