Report: As Passwords Lose Credibility, 72 Percent of Companies Plan to Ditch them by 2025

Security pros name behavioral biometrics and two-factor
authentication (2FA) as leading strategies to address deficiencies in
password-only account security

LOS ANGELES–(BUSINESS WIRE)–TeleSign,
the leader in mobile identity solutions, today released a new report Beyond
the Password: The Future of Account Security. The study found that
69 percent of security professionals believe usernames and passwords
alone no longer provide sufficient security and a majority (72 percent)
predict passwords will be phased out within nine years. The report also
shows that security professionals are increasingly turning to effective,
easy to implement technologies such as behavioral biometrics and
two-factor authentication (2FA) to secure user accounts.

“The vast majority of security professionals no longer trust the
password to do its job,” said Ryan Disraeli, Co-Founder of TeleSign.
“Thankfully, most companies aren’t resigning themselves or their users
to password-only account security. They are implementing two-factor
authentication in droves and newer technologies such as behavioral
biometrics are emerging to address many of the concerns developers have
around adding new tech to their applications.”

More key findings from TeleSign’s The Future of Account Security Report
include:

• Trust in passwords is waning, most companies plan to do away with
  them
  • Sixty-nine percent of security professionals believe usernames and
    passwords alone no longer provide sufficient security
  • Seventy-two percent believe their company will do away with
    passwords by 2025.
  • Ninety percent of companies experienced fraud in the past 12
    months, of which 97 percent felt the impacts.
  • Seventy-nine percent are extremely or very concerned about account
    takeovers (ATOs), and with good reason. Costs were higher for
    companies who had experienced ATOs in the past year — with 51
    percent experiencing financial losses, 42 percent experiencing
    loss of customers or users, 42 percent experiencing damage to the
    company brand and 45 percent experiencing increased employee time
    to correct the fraud.
  • Nine in 10 companies say behavioral biometrics would be extremely
    or very valuable for increasing security and 8 in 10 say it would
    increase security without degrading the user experience.
  • More than half of companies (54 percent) plan to implement
    behavioral biometrics in 2016 or later.
  • Eighty-five percent of companies will be using 2FA within the next
    12 months, with four in ten already using it for their consumer
    accounts and another four in ten planning to adopt it in the next
    year.
  • Ninety-two percent of security pros agree two-factor
    authentication significantly increases account security on top of
    passwords.

  Online fraud remains a top concern for companies, with 86 percent
  reporting they are extremely or very concerned about authenticating the
  identity of web and mobile app users. In the past year, 9 in 10
  companies have experienced fraud and almost 8 in 10 (79 percent) are
  concerned about account takeovers (ATOs). ATOs occur when unauthorized
  access is gained to a web or mobile end-user account – often due to
  stolen credentials, weak passwords or bot-based attacks. Overall, the
  impact of fraud remains high, with 42 percent of companies saying they
  experienced financial losses and 45 percent experiencing increased
  employee time to correct the fraud.

  “The business of fraud has become public enemy number one for mobile and
  online companies,” Disraeli continued. “Cybercrime such as account
  takeover is affecting businesses of all sizes by incurring financial
  losses, loss of customers and users and ultimately brand damage. In
  order to address the failing password, enterprises need to add
  additional account security technologies to keep user accounts safe.
  Behavioral biometrics technology and two-factor authentication are
  emerging as leading candidates to bridge the gap.”

  Commissioned by TeleSign and conducted by Lawless Research, the study
  surveyed 600 security professionals across 15 industries in the U.S. and
  revealed that securing consumer accounts is a top concern for businesses.

  Additional resources:

  The Future of Account Security Report: https://www.telesign.com/resources/research-and-reports/beyond-password-future-account-security/

  The Future of Account Security Infographic: https://www.telesign.com/resources/infographics/future-account-security-report-infographic

  About TeleSign

  TeleSign is the leader in mobile identity solutions, helping customers
  secure more than 3.5 billion end user accounts worldwide and prevent
  registration fraud, while improving user experience and managing costs.
  TeleSign delivers account security and fraud prevention with two-factor
  authentication based on each user’s mobile identity (phone number,
  device and behavior) and driven by real-time, global intelligence,
  including reputation scoring and device data. To find out more, visit http://www.telesign.com
  or follow us on Twitter – @TeleSign.

  Contacts

  TeleSign
  Sondra Magness, 310-742-8252
  smagness@telesign.com