Nearly 60% of Americans perceive losing their passwords as stressful as suffering a personal injury or illness, facing financial difficulties, or losing their jobs, according to a recent survey conducted by NordPass. The study, which delves into the impact of increasing cybersecurity demands on mental health, also reveals that a similar percentage fear losing access to crucial accounts without a reset option.
NordPass attributes this rising stress to users juggling too many passwords, resulting in difficulties in remembering which password belongs to which account. In the US, 56% of internet users acknowledged password management as a significant challenge. This strain stems from the fact that an average internet user manages approximately 100 passwords spanning personal and business accounts, many of which are used daily. “We fear losing access to our accounts and create simple passwords so we don’t forget them, while the most direct way to lose an account is actually to create a simple password for it,” remarks Tomas Smalakys, the CTO of NordPass.
In response to the survey findings, Smalakys offers several cybersecurity recommendations to alleviate password-related stress. These include adopting a password manager for secure storage and autofill, trying passkeys—a passwordless login method backed by leading tech companies such as Microsoft, Google, and Apple, and deleting rarely used accounts to reduce their attractiveness to cybercriminals.
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