IT Security

A password shared is a password halved

by Mark Rowe

Half of people (52pc) share passwords with their spouse or partner. This is according to a poll of IT people at at Cloud Expo Europe 2016, by an IT security product company.

The same poll found that friends and children are trusted the least; more people are prepared to hand a password over to a colleague (20 percent) or other family member (20 percent) than to friends (4 percent) or children (4 percent).

Considering that a quarter of people (26 percent) have more than 30 passwords, but that most people (33 percent) can only remember between two and five, keeping track of passwords is a challenge, says Centrify.

Barry Scott, chief technology officer, EMEA, Centrify, said: “Sharing passwords may be tempting, but who knows what the future may bring. The people who know us the best are also the ones best placed to guess our passwords, from our favourite football teams to our childrens’ or pets’ names or the schools we attended. For those living with someone who may be lacking in imagination, there’s even a probability that the dreaded ‘PASSWORD’ password is in use somewhere.

“Passwords alone are no longer fit for purpose which is why the industry is starting to shift to multi-factor authentication, such as combining a password with biometrics. This means that while your partner may gaze into your eyes to capture your heart, they won’t be able to get your log-in details.”

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