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Password-based authentication is no longer capable of meeting the demands of modern information security, according to a survey of 589 consumers by LaunchKey.
An overwhelming 84 percent of respondents support eliminating passwords all together, while 75 percent said they forget passwords or have to write them down.
Additionally, more than three-fourths of those surveyed (76 percent) feel their data would be more secure with an alternative form of verification, with 59 percent preferring fingerprint scans over passwords.
“We were surprised that 60 percent responded that they had never been the victim of a data breach,” Devin Egan, co-founder and chief technology officer of LaunchKey, told eWEEK. “This is shockingly high. Obviously, companies and governments have done a good enough job keeping these incidents quiet from most victims.”
Additionally, the survey found that women are more likely than men to share passwords.
Nearly 8 percent more women than men surveyed said they share their passwords with others, while nearly 14 percent more women than men stated that they use the same passwords for multiple accounts.
Among other survey findings, more than three-quarters (76 percent) feel their data would be more secure with a form of verification other than passwords, and only 40 percent claim to have been victim of a data breach.
“Biometrics will continue to improve accuracy and be more difficult to impersonate,” Egan said. “Touch ID by Apple, for instance, can be tricked with a high-resolution copy. We are seeing additional technologies and techniques being implemented to prevent sophisticated bypassing of these systems.”
According to the survey, which found that 68 percent of respondents reuse passwords, the most frustrating parts of using passwords are dealing with systems that require changing passwords frequently and having to create a password that doesn’t fit the normal model.
A majority (53 percent) said they have low confidence in security at retail stores, with 43 percent having low confidence in security of online retailers and 47 percent having high confidence in banks.
While fingerprint scan is the preferred method for security, a password is still the second-most preferred method—55 percent said they would feel comfortable with their smartphone verifying access to accounts or services.
When accessing a sensitive personal account online, 70 percent said security is most important.
Despite recent high-profile data theft attacks, many American workers have not taken action to protect information on their personal and corporate-issued devices, according to a survey of more than 1,000 consumers that was commissioned by Citrix earlier this month.
The majority (69 percent) of Americans think having their personal information stolen in their lifetime is inevitable, and 84 percent feel their personal information is more vulnerable now than a year ago.