Two-thirds of staff write down passwords

Two-thirds of staff write down passwords

Two thirds of corporate computer users admitted that they have written down IT access passwords at least once, a recent survey revealed.

Link: UK businesses at mercy of hackers

According to the study, conducted on SearchSecurity.com and sponsored by security firm Rainbow Technologies, the reason why so many people compromise security by jotting down passwords is that 75 per cent of all companies require end users to change them at least every 13 weeks.

Out of the 300 opt-in subscribers who participated in the survey, just under a third of respondents said that they change their passwords more than seven times a year.

‘Once an end user writes down the password, the potential for a breach of business-critical data and applications jumps considerably,’ said Jeff Laubhan, senior product marketing manager, Rainbow Technologies in a statement.

‘Look around any office, and you’ll find sticky notes on or near monitors or attached to the underside of the keyboard. The survey says companies are concerned enough about securing their systems to deploy user names and passwords, but also face the challenge all companies do – what is the balance between a robust password policy and one that drives people over the edge to write it down?

‘Security is only as strong as the weakest link, which is usually a password. You can have the most complicated security system entailing encryption, VPN, secure vaults and more, but it can all be broken with a weak or written down password.’

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