And 35% of them also keep digital or physical password lists

Dec 16, 2019 12:17 GMT  ·  By

Despite some companies advocating for a passwordless feature, including here tech giant Microsoft, the majority of users still rely on passwords to protect their accounts, both offline and offline.

And research conducted in the last two and half years in the Untied States and Canada by HYPR reveals worrying statistics over how Internet users actually manage their passwords both in their personal life and at work.

No less than 78% of the 500 respondents said they had to reset the password for at least one personal account in the last 90 days, while 57% of them said a password reset was required for a work account as well.

Also worrying is that way too many people rely on digital and physical lists to manage their passwords. When it comes to personal accounts, 65% of the users said they do have a list with their passwords and only 30% installed a dedicated password manager on their devices.

When forced to update a password, 49% of the respondents say they use the same phrase with just a minor change because it’s easier to remember it.

3 in 10 people store files in text documents

Password reuse is also concerning, as only 28% of the users create unique passwords. The remaining 72% use the same password for several accounts.

“People still rely on traditional means of keeping important information out of memory but yet still accessible. This previously meant simple pieces of paper or notes, but have since transitioned with the digital revolution to Word docs, emails, spreadsheets, and so on,” the study reveals.

“People do not rely on technology that’s created to help them manage their passwords. This is due to a lack of knowledge of their existence, uncertainty of how to use them, and not trusting a third party to keep their passwords secure and not share them.”

No less than 35% of the users said they keep their passwords in unprotected files stored on their computers, such as Excel spreadsheets or text documents.