Think we have password problems? Lastpass says they’re only the beginning

Lastpass runs through some research that was done by Spycloud, and I guess I can say that I’m not surprised by the result.

Headings within the article include:

• 2020 introduced dangerous data breach trends 
• Risky password behavior made businesses vulnerable in 2020 
• Hashing algorithms can protect PII data, but they have limitations 
• A business password manager helps businesses reduce cybersecurity risk 
• Protect your business from these data breach trends with strong password management 

I guess the biggest think you shouldn’t be surprised about is the password. One of the paragraphs we’re going to really highlight in the discussion for the next podcast should probably not be much of a shock to my readers if you’ve read things similar before.

Sometimes employees used weak passwords that are incredibly easy to guess or crack. According to Spycloud’s research, the password ‘123456789? was found
over 3.6 million times in data breaches. Another popular password, unfortunately, was “password” itself. It showed up 1.2 million times. 

Are you surprised by this set of numbers? Has it gone down maybe? You be the judge. Are you using such passwords?

These password trends should serve as a warning to businesses. The average person, if exposed just once, will ultimately be included in eight to ten breaches, three to four of which could take place within a given year. An employee could easily put business data at risk by re-using passwords across multiple accounts, including their work accounts. Case in point: 
150,000 security cameras at a Silicon Valley security company were hacked earlier this year because a single password was compromised. 

There’s plenty more in this article, do feel free to click through and read this one.