Online Authentication Habits of Indian Users
Pratyush Choudhary, Subhrajit Das, Mukul Paras Potta, Prasuj Das, and, Abhishek Bichhawat

TL;DR
This study explores the authentication habits of Indian users, revealing their preferences, awareness, and security practices regarding password managers and two-factor authentication, highlighting cultural influences on security behaviors.
Contribution
First study focusing on Indian users' authentication habits, providing insights into their preferences, awareness, and security practices with password tools and 2FA.
Findings
Majority use 2FA and password managers, often unaware of formal names
Password managers mainly used for less sensitive accounts like social media
Many reuse passwords and prefer shorter, predictable passwords
Abstract
Passwords have been long used as the primary authentication method for web services. Weak passwords used by the users have prompted the use of password management tools and two-factor authentication to ensure better account security. While prior studies have studied their adoption individually, none of these studies focuses particularly on the Indian setting, which is culturally and economically different from the countries in which these studies have been done in the past. To this end, we conducted a survey with 90 participants residing in India to better understand the mindset of people on using password managers and two-factor authentication (2FA). Our findings suggest that a majority of the participants have used 2FA and password managers in some form, although they are sometimes unaware of their formal names. While many participants used some form of 2FA across all their…
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Taxonomy
TopicsSpam and Phishing Detection
