Forgetting Passwords Is Now The Most Annoying Habit For Brits

Our hatred for remembering multiple passwords appears to know no bounds; according to a new survey which details the things we’d rather do than have to keep track of our logins.

A study of over a thousand UK workers by identity management firm Centrify found that forgetting passwords for an online account is more annoying than misplacing your keys, phone battery dying, or even sitting next to a crying baby on a long flight.

And despite many of us believing that our passwords are secure enough to deter hackers, the sheer amount of login accounts people have in their personal and professional lives is leading to some rather embrassing errors.

The survey found that more than one in three (38 percent) have accounts they cannot get into any more because they cannot remember the password, and 28 percent get locked out at least once a month due to multiple incorrect password entries. This is hardly surprising, however, when the survey found nearly half (42 percent) of respondents created at least one new account profile every week – nearly 50 a year.

Counting the cost

But our reluctance to remember passwords could be putting the security of both home and work environments under threat, as employees run a costly risk of forgetting passwords. Centrify found that the average employee wastes £261 a year in company time on trying to manage multiple passwords, which for a company with 500 staff is a loss of more than £130,000 a year.

Workers could also be putting their employer’s data at risk by using mobile devices to access it outside of work, without using proper safety precautions.

Whilst around half (47 percent) of workers use their personal mobile devices for business purposes, one in three (34 percent) admit they do not actually use passwords on these devices despite having  important or confidential information on them, leaving their employers at risk.

“In our new digital lifestyles, which see a blurring of the lines between personal and professional lives, we are constantly having to juggle multiple passwords for everything from email and mobile apps to online shopping and social media,” says Barry Scott, EMEA Chief Technology Officer for Centrify.

“According to our survey, over a quarter of us now enter a password online more than 10 times a day, which could mean 3,500 to 4,000 times a year.  This is becoming a real challenge for employers who need to manage security and privacy concerns and for employees who are costing their companies time and money.”

What do you know about Internet security? Find out with our quiz!

Mike Moore

Michael Moore joined TechWeek Europe in January 2014 as a trainee before graduating to Reporter later that year. He covers a wide range of topics, including but not limited to mobile devices, wearable tech, the Internet of Things, and financial technology.

Recent Posts

Ericsson To Cut 1,200 Jobs in Sweden Amid ‘Challenging’ Market

Swedish telecoms giant Ericsson blamed “challenging mobile networks market” and “further volume contraction” for job…

3 hours ago

FTX’s Sam Bankman-Fried Sentenced To 25 Years In Prison For $8bn Fraud

Dramatic downfall. Sam Bankman-Fried sentenced to 25 years in prison for masterminding $8bn fraud that…

4 hours ago

Elon Musk Orders FSD Demo For Every Tesla US Sale

Fallout avoidance? Tesla buyers in the US must be shown how to use the FSD…

5 hours ago

Amazon Pumps Another $2.75 Billion Into Anthropic

Amazon completes its $4bn investment into AI firm Anthropic, after providing an additional $2.75bn in…

7 hours ago

The Sustainability of AI

While AI promises unparalleled efficiency, productivity, and innovation, questions regarding its environmental impact loom large.…

10 hours ago

Trump’s Truth Social Makes Successful Market Debut

Shares in Donald Trump’s social media company rose about 16 percent after first day of…

10 hours ago