77 percent of people are open to using password alternatives

The username and password combination has been with us for a long time, but we're increasingly seeing its shortcomings for protecting sensitive data.

A new survey of 24,000 consumers across six continents by technology services and consulting company Accenture reveals that 60 percent of consumers find passwords cumbersome and more than three-quarters worldwide would be open to using alternatives.

"The widespread practice of typing usernames and passwords to log on to the Internet might soon become obsolete," says 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".

Users in China and India are most likely to be open to alternatives, at 92 percent and 84 percent, respectively. More than three-quarters (78 percent) of consumers in each of Brazil, Mexico and Sweden, and 74 percent in the United States, are also willing to consider security methods other than usernames and passwords.

The survey also shows a general lack of faith in the security of personal data. Fewer than half (46 percent) of consumers globally are confident in the security of their information. Those in emerging countries are slightly more confident in the security of their personal data than were those in developed nations, at 50 percent and 42 percent, respectively.

"As hackers use more-sophisticated and less-obvious methods, passwords are no longer seen as the definitive answers to the security question," Murdoch adds. "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".

You can read more in the full report Digital Trust in the IoT Era which is available to download from the Accenture website.

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