Techlines Today

Chocolate Rains on Password Security

By Adam Myers ⋅ April 17, 2008 ⋅ Tags: Security

In what can’t possibly be the most scientific of surveys, Infosecurity Europe has discovered that women are four times more likely to give their computer passwords to a complete stranger than men – just show them your chocolate bar first. Office workers outside Liverpool Street Station in London were offered a chocolate bar and entry into a free-prize drawing in exchange for disclosure of their dates of birth, names, telephone numbers and, unfortunately, passwords. 45% of the women fell victim, contrasting to just 10% for men. Not all is bad news however, these findings are actually down from results from a similar survey conducted in 2007!

“This research shows that it’s pretty simple for a perpetrator to gain access to information that is restricted by having a chat around the coffee machine, getting a temporary job as a PA, or pretending to be from the IT department,” said Claire Sellick, event director at Infosecurity Europe. “This type of social engineering technique is often used by hackers targeting a specific organization with valuable data or assets such as a government department or a bank.”

Death by chocolate, be afraid people!