Password sharing and where the threat lies

We have highlighted that password sharing is a key area of concern with regards to insider threats. But what kind of users are IT managers concerned about within their organisations? How prolific do they believe password sharing to be and how do they think it occurs?

In terms of security risk, IT professionals are far more concerned about ignorant users than any other group. 42% told us they considered them to be the greatest security risk in their organisation, ahead of tech savvy users who may be attempting to get around internal security protocols, or external visitors such as clients, customers and suppliers.

IT managers concerns here are not misdirected, ignorant users are a great security risk. Those that are not aware of the dangers of sharing passwords or other sensitive information are most likely to pass it on to malicious users.

We also see senior management is considered to be of as great a risk as new hires or contract staff. All of these groups could include ignorant users, but you would expect senior staff to be less so in comparison to new or temporary employees. However, it is often the case that senior management are the worst culprits for password sharing, as they are the most likely to do so in order to delegate work, and many work under the assumption that the rules do not apply to them.