Nuance Communications issued a media alert revealing the results of a Twitter-based survey conducted over the past couple of weeks. Through the survey, the company sought to learn more about the general public’s exposure to the pain points created by cumbersome password management strictures and to gain insights into the attitudes that individuals have with respect to using their voiceprint as an alternative to multiple passwords.

Here are the important findings as reported by Nuance:

62 percent of respondents have more than 11 usernames and passwords, and that they forget their passwords between one and five times a month. Each time a password is forgotten it’s lost time that could be spent being more productive at work or at home. In addition, 74 percent of those surveyed have been blocked access to important information while using a mobile device because they could not remember their log-in information. The survey also found that 80 percent of respondents use the same password for multiple accounts if it fits the password criteria.

More detailed findings can be found here.

When viewed as a whole, the responses reveal that present solutions to mobile security are both inconvenient and insecure. There are no surprises in that. There should be no surprise in learning that 77 percent of respondents would be comfortable using voice biometrics as an alternative if it meant tighter security, and that a combination of voice and a password or PIN was preferred by 61 percent of those surveyed.

These findings are a significant upgrade from a survey conducted in 2009 by contactcentres.net in Australia and New Zealand. When asked about their preferred methods for identity verification, voice biometrics rated first, but only by 45% of participants, followed by PIN (21%), password (18%) and personal details or history questions (16%).

Nuance’s Twitter poll shows how dis-integrated our mobile identities have become. I fall into the category of individuals with well over 11 user names and password combinations across mobile communications and commerce sites. I was also one of the respondents who was locked out of a site after mis-remembering my password while trying to rebook a connecting flight through a mobile Web site. How I look forward to the day when I can use my voiceprint for more convenient authentication.

Categories: Articles

Tags: mobile authentication, survey results, Voice biometrics, Nuance