Half of internet users undermine their online security by sharing passwords

According to the findings of Kaspersky Lab’s recent consumer survey, respondents were more likely to think strong passwords were necessary for the online services they valued most highly. The studies found that according to consumers the websites most in need of strong passwords were online banking (54%), e-mail (44%) and social media websites (24%). The list of the top three most important applications was almost identical, at 53% for online banking, 43% for email and 21% for social media sites.

Consumers also believe that online shopping and payment applications require strong passwords, but do not place the same value on these sites. Just 29% considered online shopping to be a personally important service, although over a third (38%) felt it warranted a strong password. In addition, 29% agreed that online payment systems needed a strong password, with slightly fewer 23% regarding these services as personally valuable.

More worrying is the fact that although consumers agreed that online financial transactions require a strong password, over a quarter (29%) think there is no need to have additional protection for their personal credentials when using these services. They expect the brands they shop with to provide all the protection they need.

Putting their personal information at even greater risk, a third (33%) of Internet users also admit to freely sharing passwords with family members. 44% have both shared passwords and left them visible to others. One in ten (11%) share passwords with friends and a surprising 6% with colleagues. And, with over a third (38%) of consumers using only one email address for all of their needs, sharing that password with others could prove costly. Should it get into the wrong hands, this password could unlock all information stored on that email address.