Hackers could be someone as innocent as a kid testing password combinations for a parent-controlled Xbox.
Or they could pose enough of a threat that the US government would fork up $10 million to stop them.
Cyberattacks increased by 38% in 2022, with victims like Twitter, Florida International University, Uber, Medibank, and more — but imagine all the cyberattacks you don’t hear about.
That’s what Bitwarden learned in their latest 2023 Password Decisions Survey. A whopping 60% of the IT decision-makers surveyed reported a cyberattack within the last year. Even with a majority of respondents using 2-factor authentication.
What gives?
For starters, nearly 50% of respondents reported employees using unauthorized devices for work — a big no-no in the cybersecurity realm. But convenience is a greater incentive than security for 73% of them.
But that’s not all that’s making companies vulnerable to cyberattacks. While a solid 84% of IT managers use secure password managers, many still lean on old habits like keeping passwords on computer documents (54%), reusing passwords for multiple sites (90%), relying on memory (45%), and even writing them on physical paper (29%).
A natural result is the 75% who invested in cyber insurance, plus 80% who launched a ransomware mitigation strategy.
But Bitwarden found a growing enterprise trend against cyberattacks for 49% of organizations: passwordless technology.
What does that look like for that 49%?
- 51% use “something you are,” like biometric authentication, fingerprints, etc.
- 31% use “something you have,” like an email address or security key
- 18% use “something you know,” like a PIN or special word
The IT managers surveyed agreed that passwordless tech is a step in the right direction for security. It removes the human vulnerability that causes so many of today’s cyberattacks — especially in a remote work landscape.
Still, not all organizations are jumping in.
Most (almost half) say that they don’t have updated applications that could even handle passwordless tech. In other words, old tech.
Almost 40% say their employees are reluctant to let go of passwords. Other reasons include resistance from leadership, limited budgets, and limited talent and skills.
Cybersecurity is a growing concern for countless businesses and even the evolution of certain technology. For example, progressive initiatives for the Internet of Things (IoT) continue to face obstacles regarding cybersecurity.
Read the full report here.
