Keys to the Kingdom” Administrative Passwords Changed Less Frequently Than User Passwords

By   muhammad malik
Chief Editor , Information Security Buzz | Apr 05, 2016 02:21 am PST

Lieberman Software Survey Reveals Privileged Credential Security Threats Are Prevalent  

Results revealed today from a survey carried out by cyber security vendor Lieberman Software Corporation found that a majority (55%) of IT professionals make their users change their passwords more regularly than they change administrative credentials.  The study that polled almost 200 IT professionals at RSA Conference 2016 also found that a worrying 10% of them never change administrative credentials at all. Meanwhile, 74% change administrative passwords on only a monthly or less frequent basis.

“Administrative passwords are the most powerful credentials in an organisation – the keys to the IT kingdom,” said Philip Lieberman, President and CEO of Lieberman Software.  “The fact that 10% of IT professionals admitted that they never change these credentials is astounding. It’s almost like an open invitation to hackers to come in and stay a while.  In the meantime, the intruders are nosing their way around the network. They can anonymously help themselves to information and remain undetected until it’s too late.”

Privileged Credential Security Issues

The same study also revealed that 36% of people said there are cases where passwords are shared among their IT staff.  A further 15% of IT professionals thought that if they left their current companies, they could still gain remote access with their admin credentials.

“Given that insider threats are one of the biggest concerns for CISOs, knowing that more than a third of IT professionals share privileged passwords is ludicrous,” Lieberman continued.  “The same can be said about so many ex-employees who can still access administrative credentials. Automated privileged access management solutions can prevent these types of cyber threats related to unsecure credentials.”

For more information on the survey see http://go.liebsoft.com/rsa-conference-2016-survey.

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