"I'm 73, you can't expect me to have multiple passwords": Password Management Concerns and Solutions of Irish Older Adults

TL;DR

This study explores Irish older adults' password management challenges and provides tailored advice to improve their security practices, emphasizing practicality and addressing their specific concerns and behaviors.

Contribution

It offers a set of practical password management recommendations specifically designed for Irish older adults, based on interviews, focus groups, and observational testing.

Findings

Managing multiple passwords causes frustration among older adults.

Many prefer writing down passwords over digital solutions.

Older adults are concerned about security checks and prefer practical advice.

Abstract

Based on Irish older adult's perceptions, practices, and challenges regarding password management, the goal of this study was to compile suitable advice that can benefit this demographic. To achieve this, we first conducted semi structured interviews (n=37), we then collated advice based on best practice and what we learned from these interviews. We facilitated two independent focus groups (n=31) to evaluate and adjust this advice and tested the finalized advice through an observational study (n=15). The participants were aged between 59 and 86 and came from various counties in Ireland, both rural and urban. The findings revealed that managing multiple passwords was a significant source of frustration, leading some participants to adopt novel and informal strategies for storing them. A notable hesitation to adopt digital password managers and passphrases was also observed. Participants appreciated guidance on improving their password practices, with many affirming that securely writing down passwords was a practical strategy. Irish older adults demonstrated strong intuition regarding cybersecurity, notably expressing concerns over knowledge-based security checks used by banks and government institutions. This study aims to contribute to the aggregation of practical password advice suited to older adults, making password security more manageable and less burdensome for this demographic.