The State of the Password Problem in 2020

No industry or organization has been untouched by the upheaval of 2020. More employees work remote than ever before. IT teams reshuffled priorities while keeping systems running and assisting employees with staying connected and productive.  But one thing hasn’t changed: The need for strong security, regardless of where employees are working.  In our new report, From Passwords to Passwordless, we took a look at the role passwords continue to play in today’s security challenges, and what businesses can do to address password problems for both IT and employees in today’s work from anywhere world.

Time spent on passwords is increasing

Not only are password problems still plaguing companies, they’re actually more time-consuming than ever.  On average, IT professionals in 2019 reported spending 4 hours per week managing user’s passwords and login information. In 2020, they’re now spending 5 hours per week. That’s a 25% increase in the past year. IT professionals in the US spend even more time than their counterparts in other countries, with an average 6 hours a week (nearly a full working day) on passwords.

The greatest password threats

Nearly all IT professionals (95%) agree that passwords pose security risks to their organization. For years, people have continued to use weak, easy-to-guess passwords. Employees also frequently mishandle passwords, sharing them too liberally and via insecure methods.  IT professionals cited password reuse, password weakness, leaking company data, social media hacking, and not changing default passwords as the biggest causes of potential security threats.  Nearly half (48%) of respondents say passwords aren’t always secure, and the vast majority (85%) would like to reduce the number of passwords in use. 

The ongoing frustration of passwords

Employees and IT alike continue to be frustrated with passwords. For IT teams, the top frustrations are employee password reuse across applications, employees forgetting passwords, and time spent on password management. In other words, ongoing poor password hygiene by users, and the time required by IT to address those issues rather than directing their attention to more value-add projects. They need a solution that offers security, while automating much of the day-to-day management of passwords and reducing the use of passwords where possible. For employees, on the other hand, the top frustrations are changing passwords frequently, remembering multiple passwords, and typing passwords that are long and complex. In other words, the additional labor required to practice good password hygiene is burdensome to users. They need a solution that offers convenience, while building good security habits into simple daily actions that don’t require much thought or effort.

Why the password problem needs to be fixed... now!

Continuing with the status quo is unsustainable for IT teams, especially with the need to support a greater number of remote employees. Time spent on tedious, repetitive password management tasks and the security risks passwords create could be better spent on other projects. Failure to address password problems leaves IT frustrated with employee noncompliance, while employees are frustrated by onerous security requirements.  Is passwordless authentication a realistic solution to addressing the password problem? To learn more, read the full report: From Passwords to Passwordless.