A recent survey conducted by LastPass has found that while respondents reported a high level of confidence with their password practices for personal and work accounts, the level of security for the passwords remained low for several instances. The survey is conducted annually by LastPass in an effort to better understand the current cybersecurity landscape. This year, the survey included 3,750 professionals.
According to the survey, Generation Z (7-26) reported the highest level of confidence in their password management practices. However, the age group accounted for the worst password hygiene scores. While Gen Z respondents reused passwords 69 percent of the time, they were the most likely to be able to recognize password dangers like using the same password across several accounts. Overall, 62 percent of the total of respondents acknowledged using the same password or its variants on their accounts almost always or mostly.
According to the poll, 65 percent of respondents had some form of cybersecurity awareness training, and 79 percent of those people thought their training was successful. Only 12 percent of respondents claimed to use a different password for each account, despite the fact that 89 percent of respondents acknowledged that using the same password or password variants posed a security concern. Only 31 percent of participants stated they altered their password practices and stopped using the same password for several accounts after getting security awareness training, while only 25 percent of respondents said they began using a password manager. The majority of respondents created passwords based on risk, with 69 percent claiming to generate tougher passwords for bank accounts and 52 percent claiming to use more intricate passwords for email accounts. Only 33 percent of respondents claimed to use stronger passwords for their work accounts, a major cause for concern.
“Our latest research showcases that even in the face of a pandemic, where we spent more time online amid rising cyberattacks, there continues to be a disconnect for people when it comes to protecting their digital lives,” said Christofer Hoff, Chief Secure Technology Officer at LastPass. “The reality is that even though nearly two-thirds of respondents have some form of cybersecurity education, it is not being put into practice for varying reasons. For both consumers and businesses, a password manager is a simple step to keep your accounts safe and secure.”