More than 90% of IT decision makers reuse passwords
Bitwarden survey also finds that half of IT professionals share their passwords with colleagues
The significant majority (92%) of IT professionals use the same password across multiple sites, and over half share passwords with colleagues over email.
That's according to the findings of a survey carried out by password manager firm Bitwarden, which polled over 400 US IT decision-makers across a wide range of industries on their workplace password practices and perceptions about password security.
The research found that 53% of IT professionals share passwords with colleagues over email, while 41% share via chat and 31% during in-person conversations. More than half of respondents (53%) use computer methods to remember passwords and nearly one in three (29%) rely on pen and paper.
Bitwarden CEO Michael Crandell said that “everyone knows sharing passwords via email isn’t a great idea, and yet it’s still happening."
He added: “Ultimately, the C-Suite should prioritize finding better ways to do business faster and safely. It will set a positive tone and alleviate some of the security anxieties that are so clearly present."
The survey attributed the increasing amount of password sharing to a sudden adjustment to remote work and an increased rate of employee turnover.
More than half (54%) of IT decision-makers surveyed admitted their organization has experienced a cyber attack. Two-thirds of organizations have a ransomware mitigation strategy in place, while 25% do not have one or are not sure.
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The report also found that nearly half of respondents (48%) are working more hours than last year, with respondents citing turnover and difficulty hiring as the primary culprits.
Both employees and IT decision-makers still resort to using shadow IT, with 30% of respondents admitted that they find themselves resorting to shadow IT as a workaround. When asked why, 63% believed it made daily activities faster and more efficient, while 48% said they used shadow IT because they lacked authorization for certain applications or software. Almost 40% of respondents said using shadow IT was down to slow response times from IT.
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