New Delhi, Jun 15 (IANS): As digital engagement grew multi-fold during the Covid pandemic, Indian respondents created about 19 new online accounts across all categories and those over the age of 50 created on an average about 27 of such accounts -- more than any other age groups, an IBM global survey revealed on Tuesday.

On average, Indian respondents created three new accounts for social media and entertainment.

However, the growing digital interactions also led to poor consumer security habits.

Nearly half (47 per cent) of Indian respondents mostly or always re-use the same credentials they have used for other accounts, and 17 per cent have an even mix of re-used credentials and new credentials.

Nearly 50 per cent of 35 to 49-year-old Indian respondents always or mostly re-use the same credentials that they have used for other accounts, according to the global survey of 22,000 individuals in 22 markets, conducted by Morning Consult on behalf of IBM Security.

"The big takeaway from this survey is that consumers have become accustomed to the convenience of digital interactions during the pandemic, and this trend is expected to continue even after society returns to pre-pandemic norms," said Prashant Bhatkal, Security Software Sales Leader, IBM Technology Sales, India/South Asia.

However, companies that are more reliant on digital engagement with consumers during the pandemic must consider the effects of these changes on their security risk profile, he added.

Indian respondents interacted with all types of businesses through websites and mobile apps more during Covid, especially banking (65 per cent) and shopping/retail (54 per cent).

Respondents over 35 saw the largest increase in digital interactions during the pandemic, though all age groups saw at least some increases.

Across all businesses/organisations, 35 to 49-year-old Indian respondents are most likely to predict they will interact via website or mobile phone in life after the pandemic, the findings showed.

"Nearly 36 per cent of Indian respondents do not plan to delete or deactivate any of the new accounts they created during the pandemic after society returns to pre-pandemic norms," the survey noted.

A majority (51 per cent) of respondents in India said they would remove permission for an application track behaviour if the app were tracking activity across other apps and websites.

Four in 10 (39 per cent) Indian adults said they always allow an application to track activities across other apps and websites when asked.

Indian respondents generally prefer biometrics to log in to existing accounts for banking/financial instructions but prefer single-sign-on/social media logins or email/username and password for accounts across other categories, the survey said.