How Often Do People Reuse Passwords: Are You at Risk?
Based on an online security survey conducted by Google among individuals aged 16 to 50, these are the results in password usage that have emerged:
- 52% of participants, declared to reusing the same password for multiple accounts, although not for all of their accounts.
- Only 35% of participants, reported using distinct passwords for each of their accounts.
- 13% of the participants acknowledged reusing the same password for all of their accounts.
Is Reusing Passwords That Bad? What is the Worst that Can Happen?
Mr. Gordon: I reuse my password, but it's a strong one. I only access websites and apps from my trusted, secure laptop. It's equipped with top-notch antivirus and malware protection, and I avoid downloading any risky applications or extensions. So, I believe reusing my password isn't a problem in my case.
Well, even if Mr.Gordon follows the best digital safety practices, this does not mean that other people also do the same. And this puts him at risk.
- There have been many cases of website data breaches that have exposed users' sensitive data like usernames, passwords, or even personal information like home addresses or mobile phone numbers.
Mr. Gordon's password could have already been exposed without him knowing about it. And now all his online accounts could be compromised.
- Also, it could be that someone around you gets hacked, and get you compromised. Your personal devices can be very very well protected against hackers, malware, ransomware, and such... but are you sure that everyone around follows the same precautions?
What if Mr.Gordon is visiting his parents and connects his secure laptop to the home router that has been compromised with a day-zero vulnerability?
Mr.Gordon may then disclose his password while logging into one of his accounts.
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We all know stories of people having their email accounts hacked.
Or, even worse, people have lost very profitable social media accounts, like Twitter or YouTube because their reused password was compromised, and on top, they didn't use any kind of Two-Factor Authentication.
Your passwords are your first layer of defense, so you may want to consider alternatives to make sure that you always use unique and strong passwords.
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Congratulations on completing this 5-minute digital safety power-up.
We hope this short article has helped increase your digital safety knowledge and awareness, and the 5 minutes read was worth the time.
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Article originally published at: https://www.publish0x.com/@Crypto-Safety-First
