Australians are still making the same old password mistakes, according to research conducted for Telstra.
A survey of more than 1000 Australian adults conducted by YouGov for Telstra found that our password hygiene is still poor.
Common mistakes include using the same password across multiple devices or accounts, using easily guessed passwords (eg, pets’ names, birthdates, favourite sports team, “password”, “123456” etc), and sharing passwords with other people.
Interestingly, the survey suggests Gen Z and Millennials are less thorough than their Gen X and Boomer elders when it comes to securely setting and managing passwords.
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“Your password is the first line of defence when it comes to your online safety so don’t make it easy for scammers to make you a target. Criminals are relentless and will exploit Australians’ tendency to use the same password across multiple accounts. All it takes is one breach and multiple accounts can be compromised,” said Telstra senior threat research project specialist Darren Pauli.
“Contrary to popular belief, your best bet is to use a unique and easy to remember passphrase including a few capitals or special characters.”
Password hygiene is one of the four legs of Telstra’s “Be SUSS” strategy:
• Suspect unknown numbers;
• Updates software;
• Strengthen passwords; and
• Switch on multi-factor authentication
See also the Australian Government’s Be Connected online course Managing passwords.