For years computer security experts have been preaching that
users should never share the same password across their
connected lives -- at online banking sites, at Amazon, on their
Web mail services, even on their cell phones. Apparently, most
people ignore that advice. A new study by security firm Trusteer
found that 73 percent of Web users take their online banking
password and use it at other Web sites. And about half of all
consumers utilize the same password and user name at online
banking sites and other sites. "I must say I was very
surprised," said Amit Klein, chief technology officer of
Trusteer. "It is surprisingly sad that such a large portion of
users use their banking credentials at other sites. ... It
exposes those users to attacks that would otherwise be
impossible. I thought that people would take banking credentials
more seriously, but it turns out that in this digital age, this
is not the reality." When consumers use the same password across
multiple sites, hacking becomes trivially easy. If