Behavioral attributes in password reuse: Analysis of password practices in work and personal spaces
Aiswarya, Jayasree Raveendran, Vijayanand Banahatti · 2022
Passwords created by users are hard to do away with, albeit the presence of other authentication methods. With unsafe password practices still being a concern, we use a behavioral lens to understand password practices for work and personal accounts. Based on a survey of 730 employees of a technology firm, we were able to characterize reusers and non-reusers of passwords. We find behavioral attributes such as personality, protection motivation, consideration of future consequences, neutralization, and exposure to hacking to be significantly different for people who tend to reuse passwords and those who do not. Further, where password reuse is present, it is inferred to be more dominant in the personal space. Evidence showing that communication on good password practices at work has an effect on personal space is also found. Based on these findings, the need for designing interventions leveraging behavioral insights to promote desirable password practices is discussed.