Complicated Password Rules Diminishing Convenience of Online Shopping

LONDON, December 5, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Following the success of Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the Christmas shopping season is now fully underway, but the online shopping splurge is not over yet. Over half of Europeans plan to buy their gifts online this Christmas, yet many are struggling to cope with the complex password rules posed by online retailers, according to new research from Kaspersky Lab.

Research conducted by Opinion Way on behalf of Kaspersky Lab reveals that 52 per cent of Europeans plan to purchase the majority of their gifts online this Christmas. The trend for digital shopping is particularly prevalent in the UK (66 per cent), followed closely by Germany (60 per cent), Italy (51 per cent) and Spain (50 per cent). On the other hand, adoption appeared to be lagging behind in France (35 per cent) and the Netherlands (34 per cent), with only a third inclined to shop online this Christmas.

Yet, despite its increasing popularity, the convenience of online shopping is still being compounded by concerns around password complexity. According to the research, nearly half of Europeans (47 per cent) think that password rules on websites make it difficult to remember passwords, illustrating the frustrations of managing multiple passwords for various sites. The French and the Dutch are most likely to negatively consider password rules (53 per cent and 51 per cent respectively), which could explain the lack of enthusiasm to buy gifts online this holiday season.

With this complexity in mind, it's no surprise that over half of Europeans (55 per cent) have to reset their online passwords at least once a month and 14 per cent every week. Perhaps more worryingly, eight per cent need to reset their password every time they shop online, which has a significant impact on the convenience and appeal of online shopping for consumers. As a result, one third of Europeans (34 per cent) believe that passwords are inconvenient, despite the fact that they are often considered to be the padlock protecting our digital lives.

"With over half of us expected to do our Christmas shopping online, retail is no longer about 'bricks and mortar', it's about 'click and order'. But as shopping from the comfort of our own homes becomes the norm, it's very important to ensure that our online shopping experience is a safe and secure," comments David Emm, Principal Security Researcher, Kaspersky Lab.

"Passwords are often our first line of defence when it comes to protecting online transactions, but the problem is there's always a trade-off between security and convenience. With complicated password rules to adhere to and multiple login details to remember, many consumers are struggling to remember their passwords, so it's clear they need a better way to streamline this process," concludes Emm.

To help consumers remove the complexity from password management, Kaspersky Lab recently announced the launch of Kaspersky Total Security - Multi-Device, a security solution for protecting individuals and Windows platforms, OS X, Android, iOS and Windows Phone. Kaspersky Total Security - Multi-Device includes Kaspersky Password Manager, which generates secure passwords^[1] for the user's personal accounts and applications, and stores them in an encrypted form to protect against unauthorised access.

With Kaspersky Password Manager, consumers need only remember one master password, eliminating the challenges of remembering multiple login details. This data is synchronised on all the owner's devices be it Windows, Mac, Android or iOS, providing simplified and secure sign in for websites and applications.

^[1]  Currently password generation is only available for Windows OS

Notes to editors

Research was conducted by Opinion Way on behalf of Kaspersky Lab over the period from 13 to 17 November 2014. A total of 3539 European respondents were surveyed across six countries: France, UK, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and Italy.

About Kaspersky Lab

Kaspersky Lab is the world's largest privately held vendor of endpoint protection solutions. The company is ranked among the world's top four vendors of security solutions for endpoint users*. Throughout its more than 17-year history Kaspersky Lab has remained an innovator in IT security and provides effective digital security solutions for large enterprises, SMBs and consumers. Kaspersky Lab, with its holding company registered in the United Kingdom, currently operates in almost 200 countries and territories across the globe, providing protection for over 300 million users worldwide. Learn more at  http://www.kaspersky.com.

* The company was rated fourth in the IDC rating Worldwide Endpoint Security Revenue by Vendor, 2013. The rating was published in the IDC report "Worldwide Endpoint Security 2014-2018 Forecast and 2013 Vendor Shares (IDC #250210, August 2014). The report ranked software vendors according to earnings from sales of endpoint security solutions in 2013.

Editorial contact:

Berkeley PR
Lauren White
kasperskylab@berkeleypr.co.uk
Telephone: +44(0)118-909-0909
1650 Arlington Business Park
RG7 4SA, Reading

Kaspersky Lab UK
Ruth Knowles
Ruth.Knowles@kasperskylab.co.uk
Telephone: +44(0)7590-440-433
2 Kingdom Street
W2 6BD, London