Millennials in India are prone to hacking as they don't create complex passwords: Study

The number of smartphone users have grown significantly in India after manufacturers started launching cheap handsets. Similarly, with the arrival of Reliance Jio, India's monthly wireless data usage skyrocketed. To compete with Jio, other internet providers like Airtel and Vodafone came up with really cheap internet packs for users. Naturally, the majority of smartphone and internet users are millennials. Now, the question is, are these millennials safe? Unfortunately, as per a new study, the answer is no.

The study found out, youngsters are not good at creating complex passwords, leaving them vulnerable to hacking. However, when it comes to biometric authentication, they are surprisingly more receptive and tend to depend on it. As noted by the "IBM Security: Future of Identity Study", 75 per cent of the millennials are comfortable using biometrics, but less than half are using complex passwords and 41 percent reuse passwords.

While older generations created their passwords more carefully, most of them did not prefer using biometrics and multifactor authentication, added the study. The study also examined consumer perspectives around digital identity and authentication. Turns out, people now prioritizes security over convenience when logging into devices or applications.

"As consumers realize that passwords may not suffice to fully secure data and priorities security over convenience, the time is ripe to adopt advanced and multi-layer security strategy", said Kartik Shahani, Integrated Security leader, IBM India & South Asia, in a statement.

The study found out that young adults don't put that much care into traditional password hygiene. They tend to rely on biometrics, multifactor authentication and password managers to protect themselves from hackers.

Basically, respondents recognized the benefits of biometric technologies like fingerprint readers, facial scans and voice recognition against hackers.

4,000 respondents from across the US, Asia Pacific (APAC) and Europe participated in the study as respondents. "Sixty seven per cent are comfortable using biometric authentication today, while 87 per cent say they'll be comfortable with these technologies in the future," noted the study.

Respondents in the APAC region were most comfortable using biometric authentication, while the people in the US still like to use traditional passwords.

"As millennial and Gen 'Z' employees begin to dominate the workforce, organizations and businesses can adapt to younger generations' proclivity for new technology by allowing for increased use of mobile devices as the primary authentication factor," also mentioned the study.

Written with IANS inputs