Passwords are considered insecure and we all need to be aware of the ways we can make them stronger.
A Password Manager
A password manager, which can create strong passwords for you (and remember them) is one of the recommended solutions for password management, but you’ll need to make sure the password manager is protected by a strong password! Bio-metrics is a good solution to protect your password manager.
Two Factor Authentication (2FA or MFA)
Two Factor Authentication, or Multi-Factor Authentication is a process where accounts can only be accessed using two pieces of information. It is common for the second piece of information to be a generated code from an authentication application such as Google Authenticator or Microsoft Authenticator.
St Clare will be adopting the Microsoft Authenticator 2FA/MFA solution this year to protect access to emails and online services such as SharePoint and OneDrive.
Strong Passwords
Combine three random words to create a password that’s ‘long enough and strong enough’. Change your password regularly and NEVER use the same password on multiple sites.
Weak passwords can be cracked in seconds. The longer and more unusual your password is, the harder it is for a cyber-criminal to crack.
A good way to make your password difficult to crack is by combining three random words to create a single password (for example apple-nemo-biro). Adding numbers and capitals will increase the difficulty to crack.
Avoid the most common passwords that criminals can easily guess (like ‘password’). You should also avoid creating passwords from significant dates (like your birthday, or a loved one’s), or from your favourite sports team, or by using family and pet names. Most of these details can be found within your social media profile.
If you’re thinking of changing certain characters in your password (so swapping the letter ‘o' with a zero, for example), you should know that cyber criminals know these tricks as well. So your password won’t be significantly stronger, but it will be harder for you to remember.
If you haven’t changed your password recently then today’s the day!
References