In recent years, the classic IT security protocol of ‘username and password’ has become increasingly susceptible to cyberattacks. According to recent research, account takeovers are becoming ever more common, with almost a third of US adults having lost control of a digital account in 2023. Of those, a quarter were business accounts or accounts used for both personal and business use. Social media accounts were the most frequently breached, with banking and email apps in second and third place. And 70% of breached accounts were ‘protected’ by a password that the owner had re-used elsewhere.

For organizations of all sizes, this is a serious wake-up call. Not only are business accounts themselves at risk of a direct takeover, but as the lines between personal and business IT become increasingly blurred, company systems can easily come under threat as a result of personal accounts being used on business devices, or personal devices being used for business purposes. Likewise, if you’re not disciplined about password reuse, something as simple as sharing your streaming password with a few friends can end up costing your company both financially and reputationally – if they’re not careful with it and it falls into the wrong hands, it won’t take long for hackers to exploit that weakness.



Source link