Passwords a bigger problem than last year

Nearly three-quarters of IT professionals believe password security has become a bigger problem for companies over the last twelve months, according to a new survey.

The study carried out by biometric company DigitalPersona and the Business Performance Management (BPM) Forum found that 73 per cent of IT and security executives think that password security has become a bigger issue over the last year, and 77 per cent stated that a network data breach could be critical or disastrous to their company.

Network passwords have been exchanged with colleagues in their firm, according to 68 per cent of C-level executives. 60 per cent said that they or someone in their organisation had given a network password to a colleague- while two-thirds of the participants said that 25 per cent or more of employees at their firm have access to information that could compromise the company if stolen or exposed.

According to George Skaff, vice president of marketing for DigitalPersona, 28 per cent of the companies interviewed currently have fingerprint readers in notebooks or desktops, and several of these companies expect to spend the same or more than last year on biometrics solutions.

"Executives are increasingly concerned with the misuse of passwords amongst colleagues and the growing danger of internal and external threats to the network," he said.

The research also found that 83 per cent of respondents said that security compliance and governance were important, but less than half of respondents have any formal security system or policy in place to create an electronic audit trail. The survey found that 40 per cent said half or more of their employees' access confidential information with passwords, smart cards, or tokens.

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