Web users in danger because of simple passwords
September 7, 2009
New research has revealed that the majority of people in the U.K. put themselves at unnecessary risk on the internet by using the same simple password to protect their banking details as they do to shop and to use their social networking sites.
The research commissioned by the CPP Group has shown that there is a real need for people to become more aware of the importance of using secure passwords. 40% of the 1,600 internet users polled admitted that they had given their password to a friend and 39% of these people said that they suspected that their friend had used the information to log into their accounts.
Part of the problem seems to be laziness. 20% of those surveyed said that their password was also their pet’s name. 10% said they used their children’s names and a further 9% rely on their mother’s maiden name. Reformed computer hacker Robert Schifreen says that no matter what programmes are in place to protect computers, once a hacker has access to your password there is very little that can be done.
The research showed that 46% of all those polled use exactly the same password for all internet activity. 54% admit that when they do change their passwords they usually go for some slight variation on the original. With the average person logging onto 23 sites per month which require password verification it is not surprising that so many are reporting internet fraud, identity theft and robbery.
Robert Schifreen advised using a different password for every site visited so as to prevent hackers having access to personal information across the board with one simple word.
Related Posts
Comments
Advertisement
