Password Sharing and How to Reduce It

Abstract

Password sharing is a common security problem. Some application domains are more exposed than others and, by dealing with very sensitive information, the healthcare domain is definitely not exempt from this problem. This chapter presents a case study of a cross section of how healthcare professionals actually deal with password authentication in typical real world scenarios. It then compares the professionals’ actual practice with what they feel about password sharing and what are the most frequent problems associated with it. Further, this chapter discusses and suggests how to solve or minimize some of these problems using both technological and social cultural mechanisms.