As cyber-attacks become more and more common, accounts with simple passwords will easily fall into the sights of hackers.
According to The Mirror, “white hat hacker” Joe Cockcroft said that using identifying information related to personal interests, the name of a family member, or the city you live in will make the password more vulnerable to leaks. Although this information makes it easy for users to remember passwords, bad guys can easily discover them after a short period of time researching the target’s social networking site.
For example, in a recent study by NordPass, the names of famous football clubs such as Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool were all in the top 12 most used passwords in the UK
Cockcroft advises users to set longer, more complex passwords. Password length is important in protecting your account. Another important thing is to avoid using the same password for multiple accounts. If one of your accounts is hacked, that password can be used to access many other platforms.
Additionally, users should use multi-factor authentication for added protection, which is typically sent to the phone as a code via an app or text message. Enabling this feature helps protect accounts, as it is difficult for hackers to gain access to this code. Besides, the multi-factor authentication feature also notifies users if a stranger tries to log in to your account.
Cockcroft advises users to check if their accounts have been breached in a cyberattack, using sites like Have I Been Pwned. If your account has ever been compromised, you need to change your password immediately.
Research conducted by company Redcentric shows that 20% of Brits only use 1-2 passwords for all online accounts. Of the 2,000 Brits who took part in the survey, 77% do not use a password manager and 23% save passwords in the browser. Additionally, a third of Brits say they create their passwords randomly. This study shows that British people still lack a lot of knowledge in creating and storing passwords.
Redcentric head of cyber security Tom Holloway said the worry is that if a user’s credentials are hacked, they could be used to access a variety of other services easily