Password Day 2023

Your password is the first line, and often the only line of defense between your private data and cyber criminals. This is why it is important for every individual to take their password security seriously, through following best practices to ensure security on all of your applications and accounts.

May 4th is World Password Day 2023, which means it’s the perfect time to remind yourself about what it means to create and use secure passwords.

Why Are Passwords Important?

Your password is similar to a house key. With it you can access all the rooms inside and take whatever you want inside and out. But what happens when someone else gets that key? They can steal your devices, break things, or worse change your locks so that you no longer have access. Your passwords are what give you access to your network, banking account, social media profiles, etc. If someone gets a hold of this “key” then what’s to stop them from using your credit card, spying on your network traffic, or gathering personal information from your social media accounts? This is why it is important to guard your passwords from prying eyes.

Password Statistics

If you aren’t convinced that passwords are one of the most important aspects of cybersecurity, then these password statistics are for you.

• 80% of data breaches are linked to passwords. Verizon
• Roughly 2/3 of people use the same password across multiple accounts and applications. Comparitech
• 45% of surveyed individuals did not change their password in the past year even if a data breach had occurred. LastPass
• 43% of US adults have shared a password with someone. Explodingtopics

What Are The Most Commonly Used Passwords?

One of the biggest mistakes people make when choosing a password is when they craft a simple, easy to remember, and short password to use across all of their accounts. Your password should be unique and devoid of any personal details are information cyber criminals could find with a simple google search.

Is your password unique? Here is LastPass’ most commonly used passwords in 2023:

1. 123456
2. 123456789
3. qwerty
4. password
5. 12345
6. qwerty123
7. 1q2w2e
8. 12345678
9. 111111
10. 1234567890

If your password is on this list then you’re at risk for being breached as these are the first passwords a cyber criminals will attempt to use.

Common Types of Password Attacks

Brute force attacks –

The danger of brute force attack are that they are super easy to conduct, and are highly effective. A brute force attack is when a cyber criminal uses automated tools in order to try and guess or crack a users password. These attacks will keep trying until they eventually hit a match, and with the advancement of AI tools and automation, these attacks take less man power than ever to conduct. This form of attack is especially effective against accounts with weak or extremely common passwords. The first passwords a hacker will try are the most common like “1234” or “qwerty”.

Social Engineering –

Most people have heard of the term “social engineering” or “phishing” by now. Social engineering refers to when a cyber criminals will try to manipulate or trick a user into willingly giving away login credentials or clicking a link to install malware to exfiltrate it themselves. Social engineering relies on emotion and psychological manipulation to lure users into acting in a desired way.

Keylogger Attacks –

Cyber criminals will often install malware or spyware on a victims device in order to track and record their key strokes. Once they’ve done this they can easily find your username and password based on what you’ve recently typed.

What Should You Do?

Some of the most effective defenses against cyber criminals are also the most practical and this includes password security. When creating a password you should keep in mind a few keys characteristics. First, your password should be unique. Don’t use a simple, common password like “1234”, but rather create something unique and complex that no one could simply guess. You also shouldn’t use personal details in your password. Passwords with a pets name or family members birthday are easy to crack as most of this information is publicly available. Your password should also contain a combination of numbers, letters, and special character in addition to being at least 12 characters. This makes it extremely hard for brute force attacks to work.

While passwords may be your first line of defense, it shouldn’t be the only one. All of your accounts should have multi-factor authentication enabled so that in the event your password is stolen, not all is lost. Finally, don’t reuse passwords! In the event that your password is cracked they will have access to all the applications that use that password.

Password Day 2023, take the necessary steps to secure all of your accounts so that you don’t fall victim to bad actors online!

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CorpInfoTech (Corporate Information Technologies) provides small to mid-market organizations with expert I.T. services including compliance assessment, cybersecurity penetration tests, and comprehensive business continuity planning services. CorpInfoTech can help organizations, quantify, create, refine, and mitigate the risks presented by business threatening disasters in whatever form they may be disguised.

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