S’poreans need to have better password habits
When it comes to cyber security, Singaporeans appear to be creatures of habit and prefer to stick to the same old passwords.
While most said in a government survey that they had adopted the two-factor authentication (2FA) process, they appeared casual with passwords.
A public awareness survey by the Cyber Security Agency of Singapore (CSA) showed that one in three respondents last year continued to store their passwords in their computer; wrote them down; and used the same password for work and personal accounts.
Also, between 50 per cent and 70 per cent of respondents either did not change passwords or did so only when prompted by their different online accounts, including cloud-based services, and online shopping and social media accounts. Some 60 per cent even adopted the same habit when it came to their online banking accounts, marginally higher than in 2016 when it was 58 per cent.
The survey sought to measure the public's awareness and adoption of cyber hygiene practices, to better help in developing initiatives to bridge knowledge gaps, said the CSA. Data was collected from 2,305 respondents.
The good news was that more people appeared to be aware of 2FA and had utilised the extra step to secure their accounts.
The survey showed a six percentage point drop in the number of respondents who were "not sure" of the authentication process, from 10 per cent in 2016. And nearly eight in 10 indicated that they had enabled 2FA for either some or all of their accounts, up from 66 per cent in 2016.
To encourage the adoption of good cyber security practices, the CSA launched its second public awareness campaign, Cyber Tips 4 You, yesterday. It will showcase a series of online videos, advertisements and posters.
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