Usernames and passwords have been the gold standard of online security for as long as most people can remember. And for some, it’s the only security measure they’ve experienced. The majority of bank, agency, social media and retail store accounts are all password protected. According to Experian’s 2019 Global Identity and Fraud Report, passwords remain one of the authentication methods most widely used by businesses. But is that the safest and most effective means to safeguard information online?
The short answer is no.
With the sheer volume of stolen identity records available on the dark web, consumers are continually exposed to a high risk of fraud at an account or, even more critically, an identity level. And, given their direct exposure via data breaches, passwords provide little-to-no protection; just a mere false sense of security. Many criminals also leverage compromised identity data and reverse-engineer usernames and passwords to access and takeover people’s online accounts – leading to unauthorized transactions and billions of dollars in fraud losses.