IBM has revealed global consumer attitudes towards authentication and it turns out security is increasingly becoming a top priority for users ahead of convenience.
Big Blue found that in regard to money-related apps, consumers are no longer simply crying out for convenience, but in fact recognising the unpatrolled importance of security.
In the study IBM also found that Millennials are spearheading the rise of biometric authentication popularity, recording 67 per cent of consumers globally are comfortable using the technology.
While this substantial percentage is ready to take up the technology now, a towering 87 per cent said they would be open to using it in the future. Perhaps unsurprisingly, 75 per cent of Millennials would begin using biometrics immediately.
Limor Kessem, Executive Security Advisor, IBM Security, said: “In the wake of countless data breaches of highly sensitive personal data, there’s no longer any doubt that the very information we’ve used to prove our identities online in the past is now a shared secret in the hands of hackers.”
Interestingly the report also found that Millennials are the most lax about passwords, with less than half using sufficiently complex passwords, and 41 per cent reusing passwords. Older generations proved to be more careful and thorough with passwords, but less willing to transition to biometrics.
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“As consumers are acknowledging the inadequacy of passwords and placing increased priority on security, the time is ripe to adopt more advanced methods that prove identity on multiple levels and can be adapted based on behavior and risk,” said Kessem.
Encouragingly, the report notes that security was ranked the top priority across app services in for purposes including banking, investing and budgeting.
In the report, IBM said: “The debate and trade-off between security and privacy versus convenience is an old one. Users naturally prefer smooth interaction with services, and providers have ample incentive to facilitate that experience. But things are not always as simple when risk levels rise, and technology or service providers are forced to add security measures to existing customer journeys in order to prevent abuse and fraud—not to mention protecting enterprise environments, where access controls are even more critical.”
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