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Password Theft is real:
Passwords are important. Period.
Think of them as the keys to the ‘locks’ on your digital accounts. Having strong, secure passwords is critical. Cracking a password is one of the easiest hacks that a hacker conducts.
Our data is our virtual home, and similarly, one has to keep the keys – in this case, password- strongly hidden. Formulating solid passwords is the best way to “keep the keys safe” from criminals.
These stats compiled on Simplicity help explain why passwords should be a top priority
• 81% of the total number of breaches leveraged stolen or weak passwords – 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report
• 1 million passwords are stolen every week – 2019 Breach Alarm
• $1.3 million is the average cost of a data breach – 2017 Ponemon Institute Cost of Data Breach Study
• Password dumper is one of the most common malware – 2020 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report
• Poor password security is still rife: for users with more than one password stolen last year, Spy Cloud found that 60% of credentials were reused across multiple accounts, exposing them to credential stuffing and other brute force tactics.•
What are Poor Passwords?
Cybernews analyzed the most used and useless passwords in 2021, including
123456, 123456789, qwerty, password, 12345. Such passwords defeat the purpose. But, with all the sophisticated tools that a hacker has access to, no password is genuinely safe. This indecipherable -“! @#$%^&*” featured on the Worst 25 Passwords List
Best Practices in Password Management:
Use unique passwords like Passphrases for password
It is more difficult to hack a long password. For long passwords, it is always better to include the “human element” or something that you can relate to or visualize.
An example: I love my coffee with cookies.
This becomes mathematically difficult for a hacker to crack versus one like “Ws7dfg%–”, which meets the requirement of 8 characters, upper + lowercase + numbers + special characters. This takes just days to hack, and it’s a difficult one to remember too.
Use 2-factor authentication
2FA is an additional security blanket to prove your identity while logging in. With 2FA, the chances of someone else having your second-factor information is unlikely.
Change Passwords Frequently:
Change your passwords frequently. The thumb rule is
♦ 2-factor authentication- two times a year.
♦ Passphrases – four times a year.
♦ Passwords – every six weeks.Use a Password Manager Software
If you can remember your password, it’s a bad one. A password manager can help to generate a strong password for you and monitor its usage on other sites. It can also help with multiple devices’ log-in and storage of essential documents. You can also use web browsers to manage your passwords.
The master password is usually encrypted if kept on a remote server. This ensures the safety of the account in case of a data breach.
Conclusion
Businesses and individuals must get proactive about password security measures and make it an integral part of their safety to protect online fraud.
Very good blog.
thanks for suggestions