- Britons are putting their accounts at risk by reusing passwords
- A single leak can cause every account to be compromised
- Only 1 in 5 use a unique password for each account
For most of the accounts we use on a daily basis, a password is the only thing that protects them.
But if you use one password across all your accounts, a single data breach could put each account at risk.
A new study has found that over six million Brits could use just one password to protect all their accounts – across social media, banking and work.
A unique point of protection
The study, conducted by hybrid cloud service provider DTP Group, found that out of their 1,000-person sample, only 1 in 5 people use a unique password for each account. If applied to the UK population as a whole, this means that as much as 80% of the population reuse passwords across their accounts.
Just under 60% rely on six or fewer passwords, and over 12% of respondents said they use a single password across all their accounts.
For many in the UK, a single password leak can cause a cascade of breaches and account theft. But password management is not that difficult. On iPhones, the free password app can generate, save, and autofill passwords quickly and securely. Google Password Manager is available on Android.
Alternatively, the best password managers do exactly the same thing and often come bundled with other useful tools such as auditing for compromised or reused passwords, dark web monitoring to see if your data has been leaked online, and even a VPN to keep your internet traffic encrypted.
But if you don’t want to pay and aren’t a fan of the options included on iPhone or Android, there are several free password managers to choose from.
Cybersecurity experts recommend that you use a unique password for each account, consisting of a random mix of numbers and letters of at least 12 characters, with a special character included.
The best password manager for all budgets
