P@ssW0rds!
In todays modern society there is one thing that people, misuse and well reuse on a commonly recurring basis. Passwords. So just where does the world currently stand with passwords? Is there going to be a future where these never exist?
Weak, Short and Reused
Many users in this world are known for reusing passwords left right and centre, not to mention these very passwords that are reused are usually extremely short and not secure at all. This is an issue that many share however are not aware until it’s too late and and they have already been compromised.
Are they enough?
A good secure password that follows standard password guidelines are commonly enough to secure your data and accounts provided they are not also reused.
A secure password will make it computationally unreadable for a user to brute force access to an acount, on top of this combining this with common brute forcing evasion techniques such as timing out logins after a number of failed attempts means that many modern accounts are secure.
This can also be bolstered using 2FA that would require an attacker to also gain access to a shared secure “code” in order to login.
If this is the case what is the issue?
As previously mentioned that in many cases people do not make secure passwords and fall victim to password re use. This causes many potential issues including:
- Cross site login
- Once an attacker has gained access to one system it allows use of the same password to access other systems.
- Account lockout
- If an attacker can gain access to one system they may potentially lock you out preventing access to that accounT
What can be done?
In order to ensure that you are ahead of the curve there a few things you can do:
Firstly, ensure that all passwords are maintained and managed. This can be using a password generator and manager in order to facilitate this such as NordPass.
Secondly, ensure they are secure and appropriate method have been used to aid the password itself.
More reading about this on: What is “Security”?
Thirdly, delete any unused accounts that are no longer needed. This will help to reduce the number of potential vulnerable accounts in question,
And Finally, where possible stay up to date and informed about more recent attacks and exploits.
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