Passwords are Passe - Tired users looking for something fresher

NEW YORK: According to an Accenture report entitled, ‘Digital Trust in the IoT Era’, as the Internet of Things (IoT) matures, the success of businesses that participate in the world of connected devices depends on the level of digital trust consumers have in them.

Accenture analysis shows that data breaches are up eightfold in the past decade. Signaling a potential change in a widespread practice, the report indicates that businesses must create a digital space that feels as secure to consumers as the physical space in their own homes.

The Accenture Digital Consumer Survey for communications, media and technology believes that this hinges on the four keys to digital trust that Accenture previously identified: security, privacy, benefit/value and accountability. As key findings of the research point out, less than half (46 per cent) of consumers globally are confident in the security of their personal data; 60 per cent of consumers find usernames and passwords cumbersome and some 77 per cent are interested in using alternatives to protect their security on the Internet.

Now most consumers consider usernames and passwords cumbersome and are interested in using alternatives to them to protect their security on the Internet, according to new research from Accenture. It is shown that more than three-fourths (77 percent) are interested in using alternatives to protect their security on the Internet.

“The widespread practice of typing usernames and passwords to log on to the Internet might soon become obsolete,” said Robin Murdoch, managing director of Accenture’s Internet and Social business segment. “Consumers are increasingly frustrated with these traditional methods because they are becoming less reliable for protecting their personal data such as email addresses, mobile phone numbers and purchasing history.”

“As hackers use more-sophisticated and less-obvious methods, passwords are no longer seen as the definitive answers to the security question,” Murdoch said. “Traditional one-step passwords are now being matched with alternative methods using biometric technologies such as fingerprint recognition and two-step device verification. Within the next few years we are likely to see many more consumers embracing these and other alternative methods.”

The survey also found that less than half (46 percent) of consumers globally are confident in the security of their personal data. Consumers in emerging countries were slightly more confident in the security of their personal data than were those in emerging countries, at 50 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

“Digital trust concerns are not limited to one type of country or part of the world,” Murdoch said. “In developed and emerging countries, consumer wariness about data privacy and digital trust is intensifying as the exploding Internet of Things market generates unprecedented amounts of consumer data on more devices. ”