Password Habits Remain Key Obstacle to Business’ Security

While more businesses are investing in security measures like multifactor authentication (MFA), employees still have poor password habits that weaken companies’ overall security posture.

According to the the 3^rd Annual Global Password Security Report, given that stolen and reused credentials are linked to 80 percent of hacking-related breaches, businesses must take more action to improve password and access security to make a big impact on risk reduction.

“Securing employee access has never been more important and unfortunately, we see businesses ignore password security altogether, or only half-heartedly attempt to address it,” said Gerald Beuchelt, Chief Information Security Officer at LogMeIn, which produced the report. “This report further highlights the importance of using the identity and access management tools available to information security managers in addition to maintaining focus on employee training to improve password habits.”

Additional findings from the report include:

The Password Struggle is Real, Especially for Employees at Small Businesses
Password sharing and reuse remains a common practice in most businesses, with employees reusing one password an average of 13 times. Data shows that employees at businesses with fewer than 1,000 employees reuse 10-14 passwords compared to four reused passwords among employees at larger organizations. An overwhelming number of passwords leads to poor password hygiene when there’s no technology in place to help. Data shows employees at larger companies have an average of 25 passwords to manage compared to 85 passwords for those at small business. Due to greater availability of resources and awareness of regulations, larger businesses may be more likely to have Single Sign-On solutions in place that enable employees to access more apps with fewer passwords. However, less than 50 percent of all businesses have a Single Sign-On (SSO) solution that could make it easier for employees to manage passwords.
Multifactor Authentication Usage is on the Rise, But Small Business Lags
More than half of businesses globally (57 percent) now have employees using multifactor authentication (MFA), up 12 percentage points from last year’s report. As multifactor authentication options continue to improve in usability and support for a wide range of use cases, we continue to see usage increase. Unsurprisingly, employees at larger organizations have the highest usage – 87 percent – which drops nearly in half (to 44 percent) at organizations with approximately 500-1,000 employees, and less than a third (27 percent) at the smallest businesses. Given the competing priorities of IT staff at smaller businesses, it’s understandable that MFA may not be a priority. However, given the number of affordable, user-friendly options available, every business should be able to find an MFA solution that meets their needs.
Industry Differences: Media/Advertising are Inundated with Passwords
In terms of industry, media/advertising agency employees have the most passwords to manage (97), whereas government employees have the least (54). It’s no surprise that employees in that media and advertising sector also have the highest rate of password reuse – 22 – compared to just nine in the nonprofit and retail sectors. No amount of password reuse is safe, but some sectors have a lot more work to do. When it comes to MFA, industries with the most sensitive customer data, like insurance and legal, are the least likely to have employees using MFA (20 percent usage for each compared to the high of 37 percent in the technology and software industries).
Password Manager Adoption via Mobile Increases
For the first time, the report looks at how employees use their password manager via the LastPass app on mobile devices. Globally, 23 percent of employees are accessing password vaults on their smartphone, and that number is likely to grow as mobile platform integrations improve. After the iOS 12 launch, for example, employees used LastPass on their mobile device 50 percent more frequently than prior to the launch. Further, user retention is approximately 30 percent higher on average when mobile usage is incorporated into an employee’s onboarding experience. It’s clear that when it’s convenient for employees to access and use password managers from their smartphone or other device of their choice, they’re more likely to use it.
Increased international regulation spurs action in EMEA and APAC
As global threats rise, and concerns grow about the privacy of personal information, governments and industries are enacting more regulations, directives and guidelines in order to help protect the digital economy. GDPR may contribute to signiﬁcant growth in adoption of MFA in countries like Denmark (46 percent), the Netherlands (41 percent), Switzerland (38 percent) and Germany (32 percent). The NDB scheme may contribute to Australia’s multifactor authentication usage growing from six percent to 29 percent in a 12-month period.

ON DEMAND: Business-impacting events such as severe weather, man-made disasters, and supply chain disruption are increasing in frequency and making impacts around the globe.

In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, organizations face an ever-growing array of disruptive events, security threats and risks. Traditional reactive approaches to security intelligence often leave businesses vulnerable and ill-prepared to anticipate and mitigate emerging threats that could impact the safety of their people, facilities or operations.