How Better Password Hygiene Can Help Protect Your Business

Regardless of your industry and regardless of your job role, there’s one constant among employees: We all use passwords.

However, the way we use passwords isn’t always in our best interest. A few of the biggest password red flags include: Reusing passwords across multiple accounts, using a slight variation of the same password, and using commonly hacked passwords such as “password” or “12345.”

If you’re guilty of some of these password habits, know you’re not alone. The good news is that there are a few steps you can take starting today that will improve your password habits and help you better secure your accounts.

Let’s dive in.

13 Statistics that Highlight the Danger of Weak Passwords

We highlight a few of the top password statistics around weak password management below.

36% of people engage in bad password habits because they believe their accounts are not valuable enough for hackers. (LastPass)
80% of data breaches are linked to passwords. (Verizon)
62.9% of online users change their passwords only when prompted. (GoodFirms)
Even though 92% of people know that using a variation of the same password is a risk, 65% always or mostly use the same password or a variation. (LastPass)
62% of employees say they store login credentials in a notebook or journal, leaving them accessible to prying eyes. (Keeper Security)
64% of respondents said they use at least eight characters when creating a password. (Security.org)
37% of respondents have used their employer’s name in a work-related password. (Keeper Security)
79% of respondents created their password by mixing and matching words and numbers. (Security.org)
30% of respondents (IT experts, employees, and heads of organizations) said they have experienced a security breach due to weak passwords. (GoodFirms)
15% of people use their own first name in their password. (Security.org)
18% of respondents said they had to reset their work passwords an average of five or more times in 2020. (Dashlane)
Employees reuse a password an average of 13 times. (LastPass)
Forgetting a password caused 78% of respondents to reset a password within the last 90 days when surveyed in 2019. (HYPR)

Tips for Improving Your Organization’s Password Hygiene

Create a password policy: A password policy is a great way to enforce strong password creation. Your policy should include specific requirements for passwords, as well as information on password maintenance.
Reset passwords on a regular basis: It’s a good idea to reset passwords on a regular basis to potentially kick off unauthorized users that may have accessed certain accounts. Experts recommend doing this every 90 days.
Educate employees on password best practices: When a new employee joins the team and throughout their duration with the company, training should be given on password best practices and common email hacking techniques like phishing. This helps employees better understand the tactics hackers use and feel more comfortable flagging a suspicious email before it escalates.

Passwords are a part of life. Educating your team on better password habits will help protect your business from potential hackers and safeguard valuable information to maintain customer trust and keep your business up and running.