An Associated Press article posted online yesterday said that 88% of respondants in an Accenture survey believe personal irresponsibility is the key cause of identity theft and fraud, yet only 7% of internet users change their passwords often-if at all.  In fact, many people use the same password for many different logins.

While this survey centered on personal internet user habits, this propensity does have ramifications for your organization because many company IT Departments require specialized passwords, and many force password changes on a regular basis.  The problem, when you look between the lines of the Accenture survey, is that most people write down their passwords because of their complexity (51% of Americans vs 30% in the UK).

Internally, this means that anyone working late and walking through deserted rows of cubicles can find a goldmine of logins.  This can open up various opportunities from mischievous to malicious emails sent from unsuspecting email addresses, to sabotage and piracy.  And if these accesses are sold on the black market, well you can fill in the blank.

With this in mind, the question for all organizational leaders must be: when was the last time you reviewed with your IT folks the security protocols for your internet and intranet?  How many recorded attacks have there been on your system?  How many issues have been reported over questionable occurences?

Maybe its time for passwords to fade from usage, and for thumb print access to take its place.  At least most people will not need to worry about remembering their fingerprint!