Joe Starling's Blog: Uh-Oh! 59% of Small Business Owners Use the same Passwords at Work and at Home

10 Password Mistakes to Avoid

Small business owners know the dangers but continue to use unsafe password practices in daily activities.

Even though 91% of the respondents in the LastPass survey knew using the same password for multiple accounts is a security risk but 59% reported being mostly or always guilty of the practice. The survey, titled “Psychology of Passwords: Neglect is Helping Hackers Win” looked to find out the attitude and behavior of password security around the world.

According to the survey, 61% said the fear of forgetting login information was one of the reasons they keep reusing them. Considering 38% said they reset their passwords every few months because they couldn’t remember them, it makes sense.

However, this practice is detrimental to small business owners and their employees. Having the same password makes your company more vulnerable. And this vulnerability could end up costing you your business depending on how much damage you incur.

Sandor Palfy, Chief Technology Officer of Identity and Access Management at LogMeIn, explained the digital security threat and why password behaviors need to be taken more seriously. In the press release, Palfy said, “The cyber threats facing consumers and businesses are becoming more targeted and successful, yet there remains a clear disconnect in users’ password beliefs and their willingness to take action.”

Again this is despite the fact most people understand the importance of password management. Palfy goes on to say it only takes a few simple steps to improve and secure personal or professional online accounts.

The survey was carried out in partnership with Lab42 in the US, UK, Germany, France, and Australia with the participation of 2,000 respondents. The data was then compared to a similar survey conducted in 2016 to determine how password management behavior has changed in that time.

Survey Results

The survey reveals little has changed in password behavior since 2016. The most glaring data point is 55% of the respondents said they wouldn’t update their password if that account has been hacked. Another 47% don’t see a difference between work and personal accounts.

The study says this type of behavior does little to match the much faster rapid evolution of cybersecurity threats.

When you take into account 79% of the respondents have between one and 20 online accounts for work and personal use, hackers have multiple opportunities to eventually find the organizations they work for. Regarding workplace and personal passwords, only 38% never use the same password. This means the remaining 62% are.

So who is managing their passwords correctly and taking the threat seriously? Not surprisingly it is people with Type A personalities who are likely to stay on top of the situation at 77% compared to 67% for Type B personalities.

Security is Key

Digital security depends on many different layers, and each successive layer of protection you have has to be as strong as possible.

With the threat to the digital landscape getting increasingly worse, organizations must be keenly aware of the importance of having strong passwords. This has made password management a key piece of comprehensive digital security protocols.

Small businesses must implement solutions with best practices and strict governance to ensure everyone is following the code of behavior that has been put in place.