In 2019, weak passwords were again one of the most common cybersecurity vulnerabilities in, causing 30% of ransomware infections in 2019 according to research from the website PreciseSecurity.com.
Their research also revealed that phishing scams caused more than 67% of the ransomware infections globally in 2019, and in that same year, weak passwords were the third most common cause of ransomware infections.
The 30% number indicates a concerning lack of password security awareness. In addition, a 2019 Google surveyregarding beliefs and behaviors around online security showed that two thirds of individuals recycle the same password across multiple accounts and more than 50% admitted using one “favorite” password for the majority of their accounts. Perhaps even more concerning was the fact that only one-third of respondents knew how to define what a password manager app was.
23.2 Million Victims Used “123456” as Password
At this point, it should be common knowledge that hard-to-guess passwords provide the best level of security for your home or business network. However, according to the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre 2019 survey, password re-cycling and weak passwords still represent a significant risk for companies and individuals all over the world.
This statement is backed up by the fact that the survey’s breach analysis indicates that 23.2 million victims from all parts of the world used 123456 as a password. Another 7.8 million data breach victims chose a 12345678 as their password and more than 3.5 million people globally lazily assigned the word “password” to the gatekeeper to protect access to their sensitive information.
Only 12 % of US Online Users Took Advantage of Password Manager Apps
According to data from a 2019 Statista survey, 64% of U.S. respondents find stolen passwords as the most concerning issue about data privacy. Despite these concerns, many failed to improve their methods of keeping track of login information. A deeper dive into the numbers shows that 43% of respondents reported that their primary method of keeping track of their passwords was to write it down. Another 45% of respondents said memorizing login data was their primary method of tracking with only 12% of US online users taking advantage of password managers applications.
