Passwords are hard to remember — especially if you use a lot of online services and try (which you should) to use a strong, different password for each one. But the days of trying to think of yet another password to sign up for a new service may be behind us.
In a WWDC developer session titled “Move beyond passwords,” Apple engineer Garret Davidson shows a new feature, allowing users to sign up for new online services using Face ID or Touch ID instead of a password.
Password Statistics
The study found that 30% of people find resetting passwords to be hugely stressful. So stressful in fact, that it is comparable to the stress of retiring. 67% of respondents agreed that losing passwords is as stressful as dismissal or changing jobs.
Thought of Retirement is Stressful
It is no secret that the thought of retirement is stressful for many. A study conducted in 2018 found that 39% of small business owners say they are not confident they can retire. The research found the principle apprehension about retirement is due to financial reasons. Both small business owners and employees have concerns that they will not be financially prepared for retirement. The majority of respondents said being able to save more would increase their confidence about retirement.
The Difficulty of Password Management
Comparing losing passwords to the stress of retirement acutely shows the apprehension associated with having to reset passwords. NordPass’ study sheds light on why password management is so difficult. 66% of the survey’s respondents say it is because they have too many accounts to manage.
From the French presidential election to Gmail, a number of incidents have unfolded this year revealing how vulnerable our online security is. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure you go above and beyond to secure your digital privacy. And that can be as simple as changing your password every once in awhile.
Software company Digital Guardian recently surveyed 1,000 people to uncover their password security habits. The good news? Overall, the company found that internet users’ password habits were improving. Although with the amount of password-protected accounts people have today, being savvy about your security can be difficult. Around 42 percent of respondents reported having more than 10 password-protected accounts, with nearly 29 percent saying they were unsure or had “too many to count.”
The cloud has changed the way we do business and how we store and send information. However, like all technology, it also runs the risk of security issues.
Businesses need to think about how they can ensure their security and yet allow for flexibility and these tips show how.
1. Use Passwords
A unique password should be used to access your cloud data. That will help to ensure that even if your security somehow is compromised, there will be an added protection layer for your data stored in the cloud. If you are utilizing more than one cloud service due to their suitability for various tasks, a unique password should be used with each one. It is always a good idea to limit your potential exposure. Last Pass has a great password generator and this can be a big help.
AS FAR AS made-up holidays go, “World Password Day” doesn’t quite have the same cachet as, say, Father’s Day, or even National Pancake Day (March 8th). Still, it’s as good an excuse as any to fix your bad passwords. Or better yet, to finally realize that the password you thought was good still needs some work.
By now you know the basics of password security. Don’t write them down, get a password manager, use two-factor authentication whenever possible, and don’t use anything that’s easily guessable. (Looking at you, “111111” crowd).
A group of banks, technology companies and hardware makers looking to improve upon the username-and-password login systems that keep getting hacked reached a pivotal point in the effort Tuesday.
The Fast Identity Online, or FIDO, Alliance announced that it finalized the technical rules that companies must follow to get new login systems running. Websites and apps could replace passwords altogether or combine traditional logins with a second less-likely-to-be-hacked element such as a USB key, fingerprint scanning or eye or voice recognition.
Google has already begun allowing an $18 USB stick to be plugged in to log into a Gmail account, for instance. PayPal or Alipay users also can approve transactions by tapping the fingertip scanner on a Samsung Galaxy S5.
The password as we know it is in critical condition. These days, with big-name security breaches popping up seemingly as often as Justin Bieber scandals, we’ve had to try to find new ways to secure our online identities. One finger in the dike has been the “strong” password, or the practice of sprinkling numbers, symbols and capital letters into our codes. If “spike” could be guessed with a simple brute force attack, perhaps “Spike!” leaves us a bit safer.
Of course, strong passwords have the same inherent problems as all passwords. As WIRED writer Mat Honan, himself the victim of a devastating hack, evocatively put it, they’re a “Band-Aid that’s now being washed away in a river of blood.” Still, in the here and now, there’s another problem with these so-called strong passwords, according to design student Renee Verhoeven. It’s something much simpler. “People can’t remember them,” she says.
That’s precisely what she tried to tackle with “ID Protocol,” her graduation project at the Royal College of Arts in London. For the project, Verhoeven created a conceptual series of password tools that scrap letters and numbers in favor of personal, mnemonic codes. Mnemonic memory devices have been around in some form or another since the ancient Greeks, and include basic everyday memory tricks like acronyms and rhymes. Teachers love them: Remember committing My Very Educated Mother Just Served Us Nine Pizzas to memory, to remember the order of the planets?
Dispatches From The Front 