This cite comes from the 09-20-10 issue of Current Cites.

"Password Authentication from a Human Factors Perspective: Results of a Survey among End-Users"  Proceedings of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society  53(2009): 459-463. (http://www.hfes.org/publications/ProductSubcategoryList.aspx?CategoryID=32). - Everyone loves to grumble about password misuse but rather than blaming the user, it might be more productive to look at the system instead. The authors of this study surveyed several hundred employees of a firm that handles "very sensitive private information". They found, not surprisingly, that few users adhered 100% to best practices for password use. People either use simple passwords that they can remember or complex passwords that they have to write down. This isn't due to an unwillingness on their part to cooperate but because, as the authors posit, "they are not capable of 'sticking to the rules'". While the article is relatively short, its discussion of the literature and also possible solutions are quite helpful. - LRK