Password vs. Chocolate: Chocolate wins.
This was first reported in 2004— but I doubt much has changed since then.
More than 70% of people would reveal their computer password in exchange for a bar of chocolate, a survey has found.
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It also showed that 34% of respondents volunteered their password when asked without even needing to be bribed.
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A second survey found that 79% of people unwittingly gave away information that could be used to steal their identity when questioned.
It really is that easy— I’m no longer surprised at the ease at which people will give their passwords to a complete stranger. I often help friends of friends with their computer problems, and I’ve definitely had people blurt out their login password before I’ve even asked them what the problem was.
I suppose we just need to inform non-security-minded people of how important it is to develop a habit of being “stingy with the passwords.” Until then, I wouldn’t be surprised if your typical social engineer keeps a few Snickers bars in their bag of tricks…
One thought on “Password vs. Chocolate: Chocolate wins.”
It would be interesting to know what was protected by the passwords they gave up. Company login? That’s bad. Home computer password? Probably not so bad – how would anyone know how to find it anyway, did they ask them for their IP address too? Login/password for washingtonpost.com? Who cares?
Of course, many people use the same password for everything, so getting one password might unlock every secret. And, if someone offered me a bar of chocolate for my network password, I’d take the offer and give them the wrong password. How would they know? That chocolate would be long since digested before they figured it out.
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