New research from IBM Security has found that people value security more than convenience when it comes to managing their digital lives today, but "password hygiene" — the habit of using unique, complex passwords to protect each of those accounts — is still relatively lax among millennials.
According to the study, which surveyed about 4,000 adults in the United States, the E.U. and Asia-Pacific regions in October and November, 75% of millennials said they're comfortable using biometric authentication, compared to just 58% of those 55 and older. But just 42% of millennials use complex passwords, compared to 49% for the 55-and-over set, and they maintain fewer unique passwords.
"Older adults displayed better habits when it came to password creation, yet younger generations were more inclined to adopt password managers, biometrics and multifactor authentication as a way to secure their online accounts. This could be an indication that younger generations have less confidence in passwords and are instead looking to alternative methods to secure their accounts," the study noted.
Almost half (47%) of people under 24 said they would rather have faster sign-in than a more secure form of authentication, which may explain some of the millennial love for biometrics. IBM Security also found that millennials were twice as likely to use a password manager and were more likely to enable two-factor authentication in the wake of a breach.
IBM Security also found that the average internet user in America is managing over 150 online accounts that require a password, which is expected to rise to over 300 accounts in coming years. That's driving a worldwide reckoning among consumers about how best to manage their digital lives.
In particular, a whopping 70% of the respondents ranked security as the top priority for banking, investing and budgeting apps — far outranking privacy (16%) and convenience (14%). Security was also the top priority when it came to online marketplaces, workplace apps and email, according to the study. But convenience was the top priority for social media apps, it noted.
"Survey results around security, convenience and privacy contradict the long-held wisdom that 'convenience is king.' While consumers have long been thought to prefer a fast sign-in experience with minimal friction, the survey results show that people rank security as a higher preference than privacy or convenience for the majority of applications — particularly for money-related applications," the report said.
Though many people also said they viewed fingerprint biometrics as more secure than passwords and PINs, most (55%) were worried about privacy. Half said they were worried about criminals using fake biometric data to access their accounts.
Respondents in the Asia-Pacific region were the most knowledgeable about and comfortable with biometric authentication (78%), and 94% were interested in using biometrics in the future. But the U.S. lagged furthest behind, it added. Here, just 57% of respondents were comfortable using biometric authentication today, and 77% were interested in using biometrics in the future.
Some of IBM Security's findings mirror a similar theme in a survey published by AYTM Market Research and Visa in December: consumers generally think biometrics are safer and more convenient than passwords, but they don't think biometrics are foolproof. According to that survey, half (49%) worried their biological identifiers could be compromised in a data breach.
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