FORGOTTEN PASSWORDS AND ABANDONED ACCOUNTS LEAD TO DATA BREACHES

Arecent research by NordPass indicates that more than half of internet users create accounts only to forget them. A whopping sixty four per cent   of those surveyed don’t remember all the accounts they have created. By the same token, fifty two per cent of these users have accounts they cannot access because they have either lost or forgotten the passwords.  

This is not only an inconvenience for users (  as they can’t remember the passwords when they actually need them )  but it  is also a serious cyber security  challenge.

Why is this a problem?

“Forgotten accounts don’t disappear — they are still online. Some of them could even be in unsecured databases. Our recent research confirms that more than ten  billion credentials are available in exposed online databases,” says Chad Hammond, security expert at NordPass.

“No matter whether the database containing your password is secured or unsecured, the password could be breached at any time. The only difference is that when credentials are sitting in unexposed databases, the hacker doesn’t even need to hack to obtain them,” adds Hammond.

The security expert notes that data leaks and breaches happen every day. Chances are if a platform for which you have forgotten your logins gets breached, you won’t even know it.

“This is especially dangerous to those who reuse their passwords. For example, if the breached password secures both your email and social media accounts, they will all be jeopardized.” Shockingly, password reuse is still a huge issue. The same NordPass survey reveals that sixty three per cent of respondents reuse their passwords.