• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Our Services
  • Contact Us
  • Newsletter
  • Top Nav Social Icons

Mobile ID World

Mobile ID World

Identification Revolution

  • Mobile ID
    • What Is Mobile ID?
    • Identity Associations
    • Premier Partners
    • FAQ
  • News
  • Solutions
    • Behavioral
    • Facial Recognition
    • Fingerprint Biometrics
    • Iris Biometrics
    • Second Factor
    • Smart Cards
    • Smartphones
    • Vital
    • Voice
    • Wearable Tech
    • Other
  • Applications
    • Access Control
    • Cloud Technology
    • Commerce
    • Enterprise
    • Healthcare
    • Identification
    • Internet of Things
    • Law Enforcement
    • Strong Online Authentication
  • Exclusive
    • Interviews
    • Featured Articles
    • Podcasts
  • Companies
  • Events

Yubico Finds Executives Have Worse Password Behavior Than Their Employees

June 8, 2021

Yubico has released a new report that suggests that many organizations did not take the proper steps to protect themselves when they transitioned to a remote work environment. The results are based on the feedback of 3,006 employees, owners, and executives in France, Germany, and the UK, each of whom worked for (or owned) a company with more than 250 employees, and each of whom used a work-issued device while working from home.

Yubico Finds Executives Have Worse Password Behavior Than Their Employees

The problem, according to Yubico, is that most of those workers are still using outdated security measures. Fifty-four percent reuse the same password for multiple accounts, and 22 percent are still writing those passwords down. That trend was even more pronounced at higher levels, with 41 percent of owners and 32 percent of executives putting their passwords to paper. Generally speaking, people in leadership had worse cybersecurity habits than their lower-level counterparts, and were also more likely to abuse their device privileges. For example, 23 percent of owners and 15 percent of execs used a work device to watch TV and illegal streams, compared to only seven percent of rank-and-file workers. However, many workers did use work devices for personal reasons, with shopping and banking being some of the most common.

Many of those employees did express concern about their company’s cybersecurity posture. Most (60 percent) believe that the responsibility ultimately falls on the IT team, but were hesitant to interact with that team due to the lack of support from upper management. Tellingly, more than half (51 percent) would try to solve an IT problem on their own to avoid the hassle of filing an official report with the IT department, while 40 percent wouldn’t immediately tell IT if they clicked on a suspicious link.

That last figure is particularly troubling, since it could expose the organization to a number of security threats and make it more difficult to respond effectively. Unfortunately, organizations do not seem to be taking the threat seriously, with more than a third (37 percent) of the respondents reporting that they never received any kind of cybersecurity training. Meanwhile, only 22 worked for an organization that had adopted two-factor authentication during the pandemic. Those that did were more likely to opt for legacy solutions like SMS passcodes that are vulnerable to phishing, rather than strong security keys built to the FIDO standard.

“The research shows that many organizations are still finding their feet in these new, mostly virtual, work environments, and while this flexibility can deliver new opportunities for businesses and employees, they shouldn’t ignore the growing cybersecurity risks that come with it,” said Yubico Founder and CEO Stina Ehrensvärd.

The findings echo earlier reports from Yubico (and others) that have repeatedly shown that many organizations still have bad password behavior. Having said that, Yubico has found that businesses are becoming more aware of the benefits of multi-factor authentication, and that many organizations implemented an MFA solution to protect workers during the pandemic.

Filed Under: Industry News Tagged With: cybersecurity, enterprise security, password hygiene, password-based security, passwords, SMS authentication, SMS passcodes, survey data, surveys, Yubico

Related News & Articles

New Drone Could Patrol US Border With Computer Vision

Regula Document Verification Helps Portuguese Border Authorities Adapt to COVID-19

Vivo Brings In-Display Fingerprint Tech to ‘V’ Line of Smartphones

Primary Sidebar

Register For the Next Virtual Identity Summit

Register now!

Tweets

Sponsored Links

facetec logo

FaceTec’s patented, industry-leading 3D Face Authentication software anchors digital identity, creating a chain of trust from user onboarding to ongoing authentication on all modern smart devices and webcams. FaceTec’s 3D FaceMaps™ make trusted, remote identity verification finally possible. As the only technology backed by a persistent spoof bounty program and NIST/iBeta Certified Liveness Detection, FaceTec is the global standard for Liveness and 3D Face Matching with millions of users on six continents in financial services, border security, transportation, blockchain, e-voting, social networks, online dating and more. www.facetec.com

FACEPHI is a global leader in Facial Recognition technology and in Mobile Biometrics technologies. With a strong concentration in the financial sector, FacePhi’s product is rapidly becoming a service used by banks all over the world. Its implementation doesn’t just save money, it is also a way to attract clients and build loyalty, while increasing the security of transactions for both the customer and the business. To learn more about FacePhi, visit https://www.facephi.com/en/

Recent Posts

  • MDL, Digital ID Gain Momentum in State Efforts
  • Brazil-based Selfie Onboarding Startup Reports 250% Sales Jump, Global Expansion
  • ‘All Partners Remain Committed’ to Digital Travel ID Project: Transport Canada
  • North Carolina DMV Seeks Political Support for MDL
  • The Road Ahead for Biometrics and Identity Online Summit

Footer

  • About Us
  • Company Directory
  • Advertise With Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Archives
  • CCPA: Do not sell my personal info.

Follow Us

Copyright © 2023 MobileIDWorld