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Well-worn passwords are gold mines for hackers

18 Apr 2008

Many Internet users in the U.S. and UK make the mistakes of underestimating the growing threat of cyber-crime and repeating the same passwords so they don't forget them, according to a recent survey by Accenture. Seventy percent of UK users and 49 percent of users in the U.S. said they don't write down their passwords.

Using the same password for multiple Web pages is the Internet-era equivalent of having the same key for your home, car and bank safe-deposit box.

Even though a universal password is like gold for cyber-crooks because they can use it to steal all of a person's sensitive data at once, nearly half the Internet users queried in a new survey said they use just one password for all their online accounts.

At the same time, 88 percent of the 800 people interviewed in the U.S. and the UK for the survey by the Accenture consultancy, which is to be released Thursday, said personal irresponsibility is the key cause of identity theft and fraud.

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