Password Stress could be the Reason for Rising Cybercrime
Image by Andrew Martin from Pixabay
Cybercrime is rising faster than ever, and security experts at NordPass think that one of the reasons could be people deeming password management as a burden. A recent study revealed that 30% of people believe that password management is as stressful as retirement.
In addition, if people lose a vital password with no reset option, they are even more stressed. 68% of the respondents agree that this situation is as stressful as dismissal from work or changing jobs.
Why is password management so stressful? The research highlights three main reasons:
1. People have too many accounts to manage. (66% out of the surveyed people agreed, that this is what makes passwords stressful)
2. People can’t remember which password is for which account (41%)
3. People can’t remember their passwords because they use unique ones for every account (38%)
“With the continuous increase in time spent online, especially during the COVID-19 lockdowns, the risk of cybercrime carries on increasing. Nowadays, people create more online accounts than ever to pay for services remotely, and that doesn’t help. People are overwhelmed by the number of accounts they need to manage,” says Chad Hammond, security expert at NordPass.
In addition to these findings, the research also confirmed that people tend to worry most about accounts related to money, such as banking, email, and large online store accounts.
“It’s understandable why people tend to worry about financial accounts more. But it’s important to remember that if you use weak or repurposed passwords, it doesn’t matter which account gets hacked. In essence, all accounts become jeopardized,” says Chad Hammond, security expert at NordPass.
However, even these most critical accounts are left insufficiently secured. For example, only half (56%) use a unique password to protect banking or other financial accounts. Similarly, only 47% protect their email account with a unique password.
