The complex and unreadable strings that make up a valid password are impractical for ordinary people, and companies are looking for a cleaner way to protect their accounts.
Although the password protection system in the computer network has been improved, people have not. When major security vulnerabilities hit big companies, the public will see what the most commonly used passwords are.
This incredibly lax approach to data security is why we are just around the corner from the death of the password.
I know you’re probably scoffing as you read this, but passwordless authentication will be our reality very soon as consumers become increasingly more password fatigued and ambivalent to the increase in data breaches (looking at you, Google, Facebook, Marriott, MyFitnessPal ¦ the list goes on).
The most popular passwords used in 2018:
- 123456
- password
- 123456789
- 12345678
- 12345
- 111111
- 1234567
- sunshine
- qwerty
- iloveyou
Great to see a little bit of optimism creeping in at spots 8 and 10, but it’s safe to say the creators and users of these passwords probably have a little too much optimism when it comes to the security of their online identity.
The problem isn’t just these lazy passwords that are exceptionally easy to crack. The problem is that, as consumers, we also have a tendency to use the same password for all our accounts. (If you’re using the same password for your online banking and your Apple ID, we’re talking to you.) And if we’re not using the same passwords for all our accounts then we’ve probably told a few of our friends and family our password anyway (almost 30% of you do this ” trust me when I tell you that not everyone can be trusted!).
So for companies that are looking to avoid becoming a data breach statistic while also providing the best possible experience to their customers, what steps can be taken to protect customer data in a world where passwords are becoming increasingly useless?
It’s all about authentication:
- Multi-factor a.k.a two-step authentication: Ask your users to verify with a message through their phone or authenticator app.
- Risk-based authentication: A Mac user from LA is suddenly logging in on a Surface in Toronto? Looks like there’s a problem there.
- Biometrics: Face ID is no longer just a gimmick ” it’s really there to protect you.
These additional layers of protection give your customers the peace of mind to feel secure about doing business with you.
And they leave business owners with the peace of mind that they won’t show up on next year’s list of data breach victims. For more info, check out the Infographic shared by LoginRadius a cloud based customer identity and access management platform.
Image source: LoginRadius CIAM Platform
