1 in 4 UK workers reuse personal passwords at work
Survey reveals lax security habits of UK employees
More than one in four UK workers admit to using the same passwords for work and personal accounts, potentially putting corporate data at risk.
A survey of over 1,000 UK office workers conducted by YouGov, on behalf of encryption firm WinMagic, revealed that employees' lax attitude to cybersecurity and data protection could be opening up huge security holes in their companies' networks.
Password reuse is a huge issue for cybersecurity, and the habit has played a part in many breaches, including a recent spate of Deliveroo hacks.
More than 40% of respondents admitted to accessing work data on devices not provided by the business, while more than half of employees surveyed revealed that they use their own accounts for apps such as file-sharing services to store, access and transfer corporate data.
Despite this, the survey also revealed that almost half are not bothering to keep their devices safe with up-to-date security software.
"IT departments need to consider carefully how they strike the balance between giving employees the flexibility they need, and ensuring the security of corporate data," said Mark Hickman, COO at WinMagic. "Achieving that requires a combination of software and employee education, to help improve personal IT habits that are out of control of the workplace."
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