I hate passwords. I don't remember them. I hate deciding new passwords. Am I the only one?
You are not alone.
Remembering passwords is not easy, especially when more than 33 percent of us have more than 20 passwords to remember. https://www.comparitech.com/blog/information-security/password-statistics/#:~:text=More%20than%20one%2Dthird%20of,passwords%20for%20their%20work%20life.
And, those passwords need to be hard to remember to be considered secure…nothing stressful about that, right?
The anger you feel about passwords is what one person has described as "password rage"… a fatigue or stress of having to remember so many different and difficult passwords. https://warwickonline.com/stories/password-ragewhat-it-is-how-to-avoid-it,181760
They suggest walking away and getting your stress in control (easy for them to write) and consider following a formula to make your passwords unique, but difficult to hack (heard that before?).
Biometrics is another solution they suggest (and I like). So is browser memory of passwords, but that can be an issue if your laptop credentials are compromised. Writing your passwords down is not safe unless you have all those notes in a real safe.
The best solution is a password manager. With a password manager, you only have to remember one password, but if you lose that password - get set to rage.
The final takeaway is to take comfort that password management plagues us all. But don't give up and start using weak passwords or the same password for everything because the rage you feel from forgetting your password is nothing like the rage you will feel after a breach caused by a weak password.
Jack McCalmon, Leslie Zieren, and Emily Brodzinski are attorneys with more than 50 years combined experience assisting employers in lowering their risk, including answering questions, like the one above, through the McCalmon Group's Best Practices Help Line. The Best Practice Help Line is a service of The McCalmon Group, Inc. Your organization may have access to The Best Practice Help Line or a similar service from another provider at no cost to you or at a discount. For questions about The Best Practice Help Line or what similar services are available to you via this Platform, call 888.712.7667.
If you have a question that you would like Jack McCalmon, Leslie Zieren, or Emily Brodzinski to consider for this column, please submit it to ask@mccalmon.com. Please note that The McCalmon Group cannot guarantee that your question will be answered. Answers are based on generally accepted risk management best practices. They are not, and should not be considered, legal advice. If you need an answer immediately or desire legal advice, please call your local legal counsel.
