Survey Data Details Ongoing Reliance on Weak Password Security

Open source password management solution Bitwarden is drawing attention to a recent survey that reveals that nearly two-thirds of people are still relying on their memory to recall their various passwords, while roughly a quarter of us wind up resetting our online login credentials once per week because we’ve forgotten them.

The study, conducted independently by Propeller Insights, surveyed more than 1,600 internet users globally and was focused on how they view and manage their own password security. Results showed that though Americans are the most likely to report a data breach that has affected them (one-third vs. a quarter of global respondents), a third of them prefer having passwords that are easy to remember over those that are more secure.

While security experts recommend passwords that are long, unique, and complex, 90 percent of Americans that answered the survey reported that they still are reusing passwords across multiple sites.

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a rise in global online traffic, which has also led to a similarly proportionate rise in cybercrimes, particular fraud attacks. As a result, a growing chorus of security experts have placed a focus on good password hygiene practices, or even the use of biometric authentication as an alternative whenever possible.

Some of the survey results do point to Americans using safe password practices in some areas, particularly when it comes to password length. Sixty percent of respondents said their passwords are on average nine to 15 characters long.

There also seems to be a growing awareness of the benefits of password managers, with 57 percent of Americans responding that they have started using one as a way to protect their digital information, while 73 percent said they feel their workplace should provide one for them.

“It’s encouraging to see so many people reporting familiarity with password management best practices,” said Bitwarden CEO Michael Crandell. “While there are holdouts, it shows we need to do more education on the benefits and ease of use of password managers. We don’t think hackers are going to go away, so we want to provide basic password management, for free, to individuals everywhere.”