How many online accounts did you open during the pandemic? A new survey examines the impact of this digital surge on risk to consumers and businesses alike.
The unexpected nature of a global pandemic that washed over the entire world left everyone scrambling to maintain their daily activities and work as best they could. With stay-at-home orders that lasted for months on end, most people resorted to consuming services and ordering goods online, encompassing everything from groceries to telemedicine and working remotely. In the process of having to shift to being remote or indoors more than not, companies opened up their doors to digital experiences and most people opened numerous new accounts with vendors they never used before. But this account boom can come at a cost to security in the long run.
A new global survey from IBM found that consumers’ reliance on digital channels has indeed increased significantly during the pandemic. With individuals creating an average of 15 new online accounts during the pandemic, billions of new accounts were likely created around the world. How will this digital shift impact the security and privacy landscape moving forward? If you’re thinking a growing attack surface and readily available leaked accounts, you’re on the right track.
A Digital Account Boom Has Led to Password Fatigue
Society’s reliance on email/password combinations and the overall growth in new online accounts is causing people to resort to lax password behaviors. Roughly, 82% of consumers admitted to reusing credentials at least some of the time.
Side Effect: The majority of the new accounts created likely relied on reused email/password combinations that may already have been exposed in data breaches over the past several years. This means that whatever new accounts a person ..
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