Study: 1 In 5 Workers Would Sell Their Passwords For Cash

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) – One in five employees would sell their password to an outside party, according to a study.

The SailPoint survey was conducted by Vanson Bourne, an independent research firm, and it included 1,000 office workers at various private organizations worldwide.

The study found that as many as 44 percent of employees who said they would sell their credentials would do it for less than $1,000.

Even more staggering, researchers say, some respondents said they would sell their corporate credentials for less than $100.

Sixty-two percent of employees share their passwords with their coworkers, according to the study, and 16 percent use only one password among all applications.

"In last year's survey, we were astonished to see that not only were respondents willing to sell their passwords to a third-party (1 in 7), but they were willing to do it for as little as $150. 20 percent shared passwords with their co-workers, and a little more than half (56 percent) shared passwords among applications. This year, even among a larger concern for their personal information's security, the percentage of those willing to risk corporate data either through apathy, negligence or financial gain only increased."

Researchers also found more than 40 percent of respondents reported having access to a variety of corporate accounts after leaving their last job.

"While data breaches in and of themselves are affecting them personally, these same employees may be causing potential security breaches with poor password hygiene and circumvention of the IT department."