Have passwords really had their day?
Every company has to become a technology company in order to survive and thrive in today’s competitive environment. But while organisations are innovating and transforming, finding ways to better engage with customers, and protecting their people and data from a variety of threats, trust in technology is eroding due to new challenges. Organisations are under pressure to innovate quickly and issues with security, privacy and consent plague user confidence in much of the technology we rely on.
Traditionally, securing our online identity has relied on one key method: passwords. For decades passwords have been the gateway to our digital identities and what we do online, and for far too long we’ve been witnessing the failure of passwords. Okta has undertaken research that demonstrates how passwords are impacting our security and quality of our daily lives.
But, imagine a world where our security isn’t dependent on letters or numbers which can easily be manipulated. Where access to the things we need to live and work is so inherently unique, no one else could have the same two sets of credentials because they are linked to our personal identity.
2019 will be a turning point in security. Security will begin to be based on our individual identities and completely passwordless, and identity will play an essential role in enabling organisations to build with trust.
How Did Okta Produce the Survey?
Commissioned by Okta, Opinium conducted a survey of 4,013 workers across the UK, France and the Netherlands. Responses were collected in May 2019. We refer to this survey as “Okta’s research” and refer to the people who responded as “respondents".
Passwordless Security is a Reality
Trust and Identity
Trust is the new frontier, and organisations now more than ever need to prove they are trustworthy to their customers and their employees in order to be successful. The significance of trust has increased in the last decade as a result of increased data breaches, cyber-attacks and privacy issues due to pervasive tracking of our digital identities and monetisation of our preferences.
Identity is at the centre of trust. People are now paying more attention to their identity and thus businesses must pay more attention to how they treat identities.
For decades our identity and security have been intertwined, and we’ve used passwords to protect them. But the reality is that passwords have proven to be an ineffective method for enterprises.
The Challenge for Business
Passwords cause multiple issues for businesses. According to Verizon’s Data Breach Investigations Report in 2018, 81% of hacking-related breaches were as a result of weak, stolen or reused passwords(1). And the consequences of a breach can be catastrophic. The average cost of a stolen record is $148(2), and the total cost incurred from a data breach averages $3.86m. Once breached, organisations could be struck again with a 32% likelihood of a recurring material data breach over the subsequent two-year period. Not to mention, the reputational damage is often irreparable.
While a cyber incident is the main cause of concern for