The Race to Replace Your Password

2015 will be remembered as the year of the online hack or security breach and the watershed moment where we all started to take security a little more seriously. Not according to SplashData, who recently compiled a list of the worst passwords of 2015 based on 2 million users whose information was leaked online.

Disappointingly, the password 123456, and 12345678 remain in pole position as the most popular bad passwords that are likely to lead to your information or online accounts ending up in the wrong hands. Despite the gentle nudges in the right direction to ensure we set up two-factor authentication on our accounts or adding a key-code to our smartphones, most users just find it too much hassle.

However, on the flip side, those of us who do ensure our devices are tightly locked down could also leave a headache for those that we leave behind. A Canadian widow was recently advised that she would need to obtain a court order if she wanted authorities to hand over the password for her late husband's iPad and laptop.

Although the deeds of the house and transferring of his car was relatively painless, it was left to media pressure to ensure that common sense prevailed. The writing down of passwords to any of your accounts is obviously frowned upon in security circles in case it ends up in the wrong hands, and you guessed it, a password safe is just too much hassle for the average user.

Almost every aspect of our lives now sits on a wide variety of devices. Hard Trends, trends that will happen, such as the Internet of Things, Bring Your Own Device, Wear Your Own Device, Smart Homes or the Quantified Self, represent a cyber security nightmare just waiting to happen.

Despite the familiarity of data breaches during our daily regime, it doesn't matter how many security experts line up to tell us we should have unique passwords for each service we use whether it be banking, email or shopping. The harsh reality is that most people ignore the warnings due to the impracticalities of having to remember online credentials or using a password safe.

Rightly or wrongly, as consumers, we expect businesses to adopt the latest technologies to ensure that our information is safe and secure, so we don’t have to think about it. Top of everyone’s Wishlist is the death of the password, so authentication seamlessly runs alongside our lifestyle to deliver the all-important user experience dream.

Biometric sensors feel like the obvious solution by replacing complex character and number passwords with facial recognition, fingerprint or iris scans as part of a 21st-century cyber security strategy. Unfortunately, at this point in time for most users, it's still to difficult to carry across to every device.

Although there is a definite realization that data encryption is a necessity rather than a luxury, along with a strong desire to retire the humble password, when a tech behemoth such as Google suggests a shake-up of the system that clearly is no longer working, they are instantly accused of drifting into the realms of George Orwell's 1984.

Google and Apple are thought to have their sights set on eradicating the password in 2016 through Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) team, and Apple’s use of biometrics on their iPhones and iPads. The fact that 70% of us forget a password at least once a month and even if we do remember, it takes us 2.4 attempts on average, it's clear something needs to change.

In a world where personalization holds the key to everything, the idea of using our lives as passwords sounds great in theory, but this feeling of convenience often turns to fear upon the realization of just how much a Google or an Apple knows about you and your life.

The more security conscious amongst you will be sticking with two-factor authentication, multiple biometrics when possible, and password managers, but with the majority of users continuing to use the same predictable passwords across all of their accounts blissfully unaware of the online dangers,  our whole method of secure authentication needs a re-think and the sooner the better.

What are your thoughts on this subject that affect each and every one of us?

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Thanks for reading. You can find my previous LinkedIn articles here, and you can also connect on Twitter at @DanielBurrus

DANIEL BURRUS is considered one of the World's Leading Futurists on Global Trends and Innovation, and is the founder and CEO of Burrus Research, a research and consulting firm that monitors global advancements in technology driven trends to help clients understand how technological, social and business forces are converging to create enormous untapped opportunities. He is the author of six books including New York Times & Wall Street Journal best seller Flash Foresight.

Daniel Burrus is also the creator of  The Anticipatory Organization™ Learning System, a training process for executives and their teams to develop the skills to accurately foresee and take critical actions before disruption strikes.

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