Online retail giants in the UK are jeopardizing customer security due to weak password practices
In a recent study by password manager Dashlane, it was revealed that the majority of the UK's most popular e-commerce sites have inadequate password policies. The study assessed several notable sites, including Boots, John Lewis, and Very, but many fell short of the mark.
Apple, however, stood out as a beacon of security. The tech giant received a perfect score in the Dashlane study for the third time in a row. Emmanuel Schalit, CEO of Dashlane, applauded Apple for prioritising password security and highlighted Apple's long, complex alphanumeric password requirements as a gold standard for online retailers.
With two thirds of shoppers set to make their Christmas shopping purchases online this year, the need for strong passwords has never been greater. Schalit emphasised that a strong password is one that is at least eight characters long, contains letters, and numbers or symbols. He also noted that Apple does not accept easily hackable passwords, a practice that keeps hackers from easily guessing your password and accessing your account.
Unfortunately, not all sites followed suit. The weakest sites assessed were Asda Groceries, River Island, Amazon UK, Debenhams, and Wickes. Shockingly, 16% of the sites allowed users to have the ten most common passwords, such as "password123" or "qwerty".
However, there was some positive news. Ebay and House of Fraser improved their password requirements, leading to an increase in their scores. The percentage of sites requiring a letter and/or number or symbols also increased from 42% to 72%. The number of sites allowing 10+ brute force logins decreased from 57% to 40%.
Despite these improvements, 80% of the sites examined did not meet the minimum score of +50. Schalit emphasised that no website, regardless of size, has an excuse for not implementing strong password requirements. He urged all online retailers to follow Apple's lead and prioritise the security of their customers' accounts.
The search results do not provide specific information on which UK online trading platforms introduced better password security policies in 2015 compared to those identified in Dashlane's study. However, it is clear that there is still much work to be done to ensure the safety of online shoppers' accounts. As the holiday season approaches, it is more important than ever to prioritise password security and protect your personal information.
