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According to a Verizon study released last month, compromised passwords were linked to 80 percent of hacking-related security breaches. Password-related hacking creates significant trouble for businesses-and individuals-so Express Employment Professionals polled readers of its Refresh Leadership and Job Journey blogs to better understand peoples’ password habits. It turns out that almost half change their passwords only when they are prompted to change them.
Respondents were asked, “How often do you change the passwords for your work devices?”
Forty-nine percent say they change their passwords only when told to do so. While requirements to change passwords at regular intervals are common in the workplace, Microsoft recently announced that its newest software will no longer have “expiring” passwords, saying that other practices like multi-factor authentication are more important.
Almost one quarter, 24 percent, say they change passwords quarterly. Twelve percent change them monthly and five percent change every six months. Four percent admit they never change their passwords, while three percent change when they find out their accounts are compromised. Another one percent say yearly, and one percent say weekly.
Respondents were also asked whether they had ever had a password-protected account “hacked,” and 76 percent say they have not.
Connie Druliner, Express franchise owner in Bend, agrees. “People often do not take preventive actions when something happens to violate their password security. The cost of cyber theft is high, your password needs to be more complex than ever. Cyber security can increase costs but the result of cyber attacks are much greater and come at a higher cost.”
Druliner goes on to say, “Every organization no matter the size- the action of not using the same password over and over can affect the digital security of whole office.”
When creating a password, Express Director of Infrastructure Don Holt emphasizes the importance of choosing one that is at least ten characters long and includes numbers, lowercase letters, uppercase letters and symbols. According to thycotic, a password constructed using this criteria, example: ” percentZBGbv]8g?, would take 289,217 years to crack on a modern computer.
Conversely, the common simple password of 123456789 would only take a modern computer 14 minutes to hack.
Holt also cautions against sharing system accounts or passwords, as there is no way for technology to stop that type of cybersecurity breach.
“Any techniques that could be used to address the sharing of passwords would greatly restrict the freedom people enjoy when accessing their data wherever they are, instead of being chained to a computer,” he said. “The best policy when it comes to sharing passwords is just don’t do it.”
According to Bill Stoller, CEO of Express International, few things keep business leaders up at night like cybersecurity.
“We can all do a better job protecting ourselves online, whether it’s using strong passwords and two-factor authentication or staying up-to-date on the latest technologies and trends,” he said. “Everyone is at risk-especially if they don’t realize it.”
The survey of 335 business leaders, decision makers and job seekers was conducted in May 2019 through the Express Refresh Leadership and Job Journey blogs.
