Dashlane, the company behind a mobile/desktop app that provides shortcuts for online tasks — has announced its fourth annual list of the “Worst Password Offenders.” The list highlights the high-profile individuals and organizations that had the most significant password-related blunders in 2019.
Big Tech and regulation have been at the forefront of political and societal conversations, particularly this year with federal and state consumer data privacy laws and the 2020 election on the horizon. Unfortunately, when companies like Facebook and Google (which took the #1 and #2 spots on this year’s list, respectively) admit to insecure password and cybersecurity-related practices, it’s their users who suffer when credentials are leaked online. Dashlane co-founder and CEO, Emmanuel Schalit, says this causes a ripple effect; a hacker with your username/email and password from a single compromised database can use that information to access other accounts.
It’s not just companies making these mistakes; many people can identify with the likes of Lisa Kudrow, who made the list this year for posting a picture on Instagram that showed a Post-It with her password. Dashlane data shows that the average Internet user has over 200 digital accounts that require passwords, a figure projected to double to 400 in the next five years.
