Cybersecurity: One in four Indians still use weak passwords for their online accounts, says Kaspersky survey

Passwords are the oldest and the most common method for authentication, but these only work if they are hard to crack and confidential. With an increasing number of apps requiring them, it can be hard to come up with new ideas for complex passwords and remember them all, especially when users may be required to change their passwords regularly. How well do Indian online users actually fare in the test of keeping their online accounts safe?

A recent survey undertaken by cybersecurity firm Kaspersky reveals that 55% of Indians change their passwords regularly, and 76% use strong passwords for all their online accounts. On the other hand, 32% of the people allow browsers on the devices to save their passwords while another 32% never follow this practice.

With estimates suggesting that people have 27 online accounts on average, there can be a tendency to re-use the same password. The problem with this is that it also makes it easy for someone to potentially reveal a user’s important details—and this could lead to account information being discovered and put into the public domain. The good news is that only 11% people use one password for all their accounts, while more than half (54%) use unique passwords for all their accounts.

Other statistics show that 78% people create passwords themselves, 25% of the internet users store their passwords on a document in their devices and only 17% of the people use a password manager to store all their passwords. Around 44% of have no idea on how to check whether their password has been leaked, 5% of the people said that they never change their passwords on their own (even if required). And 45% of people have checked if their password have ever been stolen.

“With internet getting even more accessible and affordable in the remotest parts of the nation, it also becomes important that the awareness on maintaining cyber hygiene is made available to the internet users, especially the newest users. Password management is the easiest and the most important first step that the user has control over, and by following a few basic steps to keep their passwords safe, users can avoid falling prey to cybercriminals, as well as mitigate the risks of cyber threats as much as possible,” said Stephan Neumeier, managing director for Asia Pacific, Kaspersky. )