Passwords remain the primary protection for online accounts

According to a survey by Authentify, a phone-based out-of-band authentication (OOBA) services provider, 72.5% of respondents have indicated that in their respective worlds, passwords would continue to be used. Only 2% of those who responded have indicated going away with passwords altogether was something they favoured and 41% have indicated that they favoured implementing a second authentication factor to strengthen login processes using passwords.

The same source shows that 63% of respondents have mentioned that a voice call or secure message to the users phone or mobile device was the favoured second factor versus challenge questions.

Results also unveil a slight difference between larger and smaller financial services companies, with the smaller ones standing their ground in the continued use of passwords camp.

According to John Zurawski, VP of marketing for Authentify, the tendency to continue to rely on passwords as a primary authentication technique is driven by the user community. At smaller, less urban institutions, the customers may be less technically savvy and the banking staff may know the customers and their habits much better than at a larger multi-national.

The survey is based on a sample of 428 security practitioners across financial services, corporate information security and health insurance providers.