Passwords: Do User Preferences and Website Protocols Differ From Theory?
Barra Roberta Ann, McLeod Alexander, Arline Savage, Simkin Mark G. · Journal of Information Privacy and Security · 2010
Despite the availability of superior authentication tools, password security continues to be an important access control in modern, computer-based systems. Are strong passwords used in these systems? Under what conditions are users willing to adopt stronger passwords? To answer these questions, the authors examined the websites of 154 organizations and additionally, analyzed 240 responses from a separate survey of password users. In terms of password length and duration, the answer to our first question was “No, strong passwords are not used.” The answer to our second question regarding willingness to adopt stronger passwords appears to depend upon how often users must change them.