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Webmail 'secret' questions a small barrier for crooks

The so-called "secrets" questions used for authentication purposes by many webmail providers and other websites pose a small internet security barrier that can easily be jumped.

A study conducted by Microsoft and Carnegie Mellon University researchers has found that the answers to the questions, which are used by AOL, Google, Microsoft and Yahoo! could be guessed by close acquaintances.

The study, whose aim was to measure the reliability and security of the questions, found that people whom participants were reluctant to share their log in details with were able to guess 17 per cent of their answers.

Some of the participants were unable to remember their own answers within six months, while 13 per cent of answers could be identified in less than five attempts by guessing the most popular answers of other participants.

The answers required in some of the questions are so general that people could just search for them on Google and bypass the online security barrier.

Republican vice-presidential nominee Sarah Palin's account was reportedly compromised by finding the answer to her secret question.

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