# Online security – how safe are your staff's passwords?

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2002/04/10/online-security-how-safe-are-your-staff039s-passwords/
- Published: 2002-04-10T23:00:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

Two out of three workers at Victoria Station gave complete strangers their company
password when asked to in a survey about computer scruples at work.
The survey found
the majority of workers “forward unsavoury material to co-workers”, “download material
on leaving”, “give passwords to friends & colleagues” and “were willing to pass 
friends competitive information”.

Yet even now there is still an undue focus by organisations including charities 
on technological security issues. “It’s not safe to give online” has been a popular
comment from fundraisers at training events and conferences for several years.

They’re right, of course, but not in technological terms. It’s because they or their
co-workers are unlikely to have been trained in computer security.

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The survey was undertaken by the organisers of Infosecurity Europe 2002 and the 
newly formed “human firewall Council” in a quest to find how ethical workers are
with the valuable company information they are privy to on their computers.

The survey of 150 office workers found that the majority of them were more than 
happy to tell interviewers their passwords once warmed up to the survey questions.
It came as no surprise that many knew that the most commonly used password is the
word “password”. However, it shocked the interviewers that many boasted the origins
of their own passwords, such as “my car – a “Porsche boxster”, “my pet’s name – 
Fred”, “my country of origin – Finland”, “my own name – Hattie”.

Clearly workers are more loyal to their friends than their employer, with 51% admitting
that they would download company information if asked to by a friend. Similarly,
42% would be happy to tell their friends their company password.

The “computer scruples at work” survey showed how lax workers are in general about
password security, with an ignorant lack of awareness or care, when it comes to 
protecting their companies information. Sixty-four per cent of workers said they
had given their password to a colleague. One man replied, “I am the boss and everyone
knows my password”, his IT Director standing next to him looked rather shocked at
his MD’s answer. When asked the same question, the IT Director refused to give his
password, he said “it would give admin rights to the whole system, I never divulge
my password”.

David Blackman, Director of Pentasafe Security Technologies Ltd and founder of www.
humanfirewall.org said: “Chief Security Officers who are primarily members of our
council know people are the “weakest link” so these findings are no surprise. As
a pressure group we are doing everything we can to educate, campaign and learn from
good practice to ensure that people are security conscious and respect their employers
information.”

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