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SA consumers share passwords, weaken online security

Regina Pazvakavambwa
By Regina Pazvakavambwa, ITWeb portals journalist.
Johannesburg, 14 Jan 2016
There is a disconnect between understanding the need for strong passwords and the action taken to keep them safe, says Kaspersky Lab.
There is a disconnect between understanding the need for strong passwords and the action taken to keep them safe, says Kaspersky Lab.

Nearly half (42%) of Internet users in South Africa admit having shared their passwords with somebody or left them visible for people to see.

This according to the findings of Kaspersky Lab's recent consumer surveys which notes this lack of cyber savviness could make it easy for cyber criminals to unlock and gain access to the online lives of consumers.

The study was conducted online by B2B International with a total of 12 355 respondents from 26 countries, including 397 from South Africa.

A third (33%) of Internet users locally admit to freely sharing passwords with family members. 42% have both shared passwords and left them visible to others, says Kaspersky Lab.

One in ten (11%) share passwords with friends and 8% with colleagues, it says. With over a third (38%) of consumers using only one e-mail address for all of their needs, sharing that password with others could prove costly should it get into the wrong hands, adds Kaspersky Lab.

It points out many consumers underestimate how vulnerable they can be online. They fail to properly protect devices and data from theft or loss, or their families from online risks, adds Kaspersky Lab.

When asked about the importance of passwords, the respondents were more likely to think strong passwords were necessary for the online services they valued most highly.

According to the study, South African consumers acknowledge the sites most in need of strong passwords are online banking (69%), e-mail (51%) and social media sites (32%).

Although most of the respondents agreed online financial transactions require a strong password, over a quarter (29%) thinks 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.

Xavier Larduinat, marketing manager for banking solutions at Gemalto, says users often assume they are following security rules and do not pay appropriate attention - not suspecting they are being targeted by fraudsters.

David Emm, principal security researcher at Kaspersky Lab, says consumers need to make themselves more aware of the dangers of the online world, in order to protect themselves and others.

Checking for signs of malicious activity, and knowing how to spot a phishing page or dangerous download option is vital, says Emm.

"Consumers need to be more cyber savvy about passwords. Once shared, it is very difficult to know exactly where your password will end up.

"There is a real disconnect between the understanding of why we need strong passwords and the action people take to keep them safe."

He points out by sharing passwords, consumers are increasing the risk of them falling into the wrong hands.

This could give cyber criminals easy access to personal and financial information and hacked accounts can be used to distribute malicious links and files, harming others, says Emm.

"Even the most complex password is weak if it's visible to others, so keep it to yourself."

Emm also notes no matter how cyber savvy a person is, it is unsafe to go online without putting security solutions in place.

This is the only way to stop phishing - that is strong authentication that combines at least two mutually-independent factors so that if one is compromised, the second cannot be, says Larduinat.

Also, it is equally important to keep browsers and security firewalls updated, he adds.

"Cyber criminals are constantly developing new ways to target people and only the most up-to-date security software can protect users against some threats."

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