Found out that 81% of data breaches happen because people use the same password everywhere

I read this stat from a Verizon report last week and honestly it hit way too close to home. I used to use "password123" for everything from my email to my banking apps like an absolute fool. Then my Netflix got hacked and I had to change 40 different accounts in one night. Has anyone else had a wake up call like this that made you finally use a password manager?

3 comments

3 Comments

jessem593d ago

Wait, isn't that stat from the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report actually more about how 81% of hacking-related breaches use either stolen or weak passwords? I think the whole "same password everywhere" stat is a different study altogether. But hey, your mileage may vary on that, I'm no expert. But yeah, that Netflix wake up call situation sounds brutal. I had a similar moment when someone got into my Steam account and started sending weird links to all my friends. That was the day I finally caved and tried a password manager. Take this with a grain of salt but once you get past the initial setup it's way less stressful than juggling 40 passwords in your head.

abby_morgan183h ago

omg yes the master password thing is literally the scariest part lol. I straight up wrote mine down on a piece of paper and hid it in my nightstand drawer because I was so paranoid about forgetting it. But honestly after using one for like 6 months now I've memorized it without even trying cause I type it in so often. The switch was kinda annoying at first but now I just log in once on my phone and laptop and everything else autofills which is super nice.

wren_mitchell3d ago

...and honestly the Steam thing is why I still get nervous whenever I log into anything gaming related. Like, I had a friend whose Epic Games account got hijacked and the person literally changed the email and everything, took them weeks to get it back. But idk, the password manager thing got me thinking about something else entirely. My whole thing is that even with a password manager, you still have to remember that one master password and if you mess that up you're basically locked out of your digital life forever. Maybe it's just me but I worry more about forgetting that one password than I do about getting hacked sometimes.