Side Click: The problem with passwords

Side Click: The problem with passwords

The hacker attack on LinkedIn has highlighted a burning issue which marketers should respond to when designing online platforms, such as loyalty accounts – the need to balance security against the danger of password fatigue.

Professional social networking website LinkedIn was hacked into on 5 June 2012, compromising 6.5 million users’ accounts or about 4 percent of LinkedIn’s 150 million-users database. Those affected by the attack were no longer able to access their accounts. LinkedIn took swift action to mitigate the situation, first by apologizing to its users, invalidating the affected accounts and resetting their passwords.

Despite the prompt corrective action taken, LinkedIn could face an uphill task in the coming months. Barely two weeks after the breach, it was slapped with a USD5 million lawsuit seeking class action status. In the longer term, major breaches may lead to scam emails and account takeovers, which in some cases will compromise credit card and bank account information. LinkedIn has enlisted the help of the FBI to investigate the hacking.

The LinkedIn breach has thrown into the spotlight the importance of password protection. Passwords are integral to almost everything we do online. They protect our identities and the sensitive information in online accounts, from social media to things like frequent flyer programs and loyalty program redemptions.

The rules of thumb for consumers to use passwords wisely should be well known but are all too often not followed:

The onus is on both users and hosts (of social network or online membership sites) to ensure the security of passwords is not jeopardized.

However, time is increasingly the most scarce commodity of all. With most consumers having to manage many passwords and trying to avoid repeating passwords, password fatigue is a huge issue – to the extent that it may actually deter consumers from making use of online loyalty sites or subscriber content sites.

Options to consider include:

Above all, hosts have to ensure that their defenses are resilient enough to withstand malicious attacks, and to encourage users to review their passwords frequently.