More than half of US employees write passwords on sticky notes

According to a new study, 57 percent of American employees are currently writing down work-related passwords on sticky notes, leading to significant cybersecurity risk.

In addition, the report from Keeper Security shows 66 percent have lost these sticky notes in the past, making it difficult to know who ultimately has access to sensitive company information.

The trend for writing down passwords has increased in the remote work era, as most workers (66 percent) say they're more likely to write down work-related passwords while working from home than they are in the office. 62 percent say they have a notebook or journal where they store logins and passwords, and 81 percent of those say they keep these notebooks next to or close to their work devices, where they can be potentially accessed by any passers by. 51 percent say they save passwords in a document on their machine’s desktop.

"The transition to a remote working environment has led to even more reckless password management practices, which is very worrying," says Darren Guccione, CEO and co-founder of Keeper Security. "As most employees work from the comfort of their homes, they have become too comfortable with how they create, store and then share these passwords with family and colleagues. The lack of cybersecurity hygiene not only puts the individual at risk, but can also present a wide range of negative consequences for their organization. It's important to remember that following proper security guidelines in a work-from-home environment is just as critical as in an office environment."

Also worrying is that 62 percent say that they've shared a work-related password over text message or an email, where the password could be intercepted in transit by cybercriminals. Nearly half (46 percent) report that their company actually directs employees to share passwords for accounts that are used by multiple people.

Poor password choices remain an issue too, with 37 percent having used their company’s name when creating a new password for a work-related account, another third (34 percent) have used their significant other's name or birthday, and 31 percent have used their child’s name or birthday. 44 percent use the same password for both personal and work-related accounts too.

You can find out more in the full report available from the Keeper Security site.

Image Credit: iqoncept / depositphotos.com