Let’s face it: remembering and managing all of your passwords can be difficult. However, ensuring your online accounts remain safe and secure is more critical than ever. Recently, multi-factor authentication, such as finger and face-scanning technology, has become more common. Although helpful, passwords remain one of the most effective ways to secure yourself online. Whether it’s your social media account or essential business documents, passwords should remain complex and never be shared with anybody. However, managing your passwords and creating strong ones can be challenging, but with the tips below, you can enhance your password security skills.
Password Security: Why Is It Important?
For some time, password-cracking attacks have been a standard method for cybercriminals and hackers to obtain sensitive information. Hackers can hijack systems by gaining access to your login credentials and passwords. From there, sensitive information can be obtained, leading to more significant issues. These can include identity theft, financial fraud, and reputational damage. By practicing safe password security measures, you can have peace of mind knowing you’re doing everything you can to minimize this risk.
Tips for Solid Password Security
Recently, the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) released its updated guidelines for passwords. This has led to many changes in how we think about password security. These new recommendations focus on usability, length, and user-friendly practices. Let’s look at some essential password practices that align with these new guidelines.
Create a Long Password or Passphrase
Creating a strong password is crucial for maintaining online security. In the past, complexity was the primary focus. Although still helpful, NIST now strongly emphasizes the importance of password length. A mix of lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters is still recommended for password security. However, NIST’s data states that length provides a more significant security boost.
A longer password is more complex to crack than a short five-character password. This remains the case even if the five-character password is considered more complicated. This is due to the number of possible character combinations. NIST recommends making your password, or passphrase, up to 64 characters long. For basic security, a minimum of eight characters is typically required.
Use Different Passcodes for Different Accounts
Please don’t use the same password across multiple websites. If your password is ever compromised in a data breach, that same login information may be used to hack into other accounts you have across different websites. Reusing a password for email, banking, and social media can lead to more severe issues, such as identity theft. A 2022 survey by Bitwarden reveals that over 84% of people reuse passwords across multiple websites.
Avoid Dictionary Words
When creating a password, it is essential to avoid using dictionary words as a one-word password. Professional hackers have programs that search through thousands of dictionary words across multiple languages. Avoiding dictionary words prevents your business from being a victim of one of these programs.
Use a Password Manager
Password managers are super helpful when it comes to password security. These programs will store and create passwords for different accounts. In some cases, they will even sign you in. A password manager can be considered a secure repository of passwords that you can access only. With one password, you can access all your passwords for different sites.
You may be thinking this is a bad idea. If someone acquires your master password, won’t they gain access to all your other passwords? Technically, yes. However, password managers will also generate a strong password for you. These randomly generated passwords are nearly impossible to crack. However, they can still be accessed via your mobile device. This is similar to the software used on your mobile phone.
Avoid Frequent Password Changes
For years, a widely accepted password security best practice has been to change passwords periodically. Typically, this was done every 30 to 180 days. However, NIST’s 2024 guidelines recommend removing forced password changes unless there is evidence of a security threat or breach. This new policy is recommended since users tend to recycle older passwords. Furthermore, regular password changes can lead to fatigue. Poor passwords are created or written down because frequent changes are more complex to remember. Instead of forcing routine changes, monitoring closely for breaches or suspicious activity is recommended.
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
Though passwords remain the best defence, using Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) or Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) is highly recommended. Two-factor authentication (2FA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) both enhance security but differ in the number of steps involved. 2FA requires two distinct steps to verify a user’s identity, typically involving a time-sensitive, one-time passcode, which reduces the risk of fraud. In contrast, MFA adds an extra layer of security by requiring two or more verification steps to authenticate a user.
Generally, this second layer is a code sent or found on your smartphone. Even if your password is compromised, both significantly reduce the risk of unauthorized access. It is recommended to use MFA and/or 2FA across all of your systems, particularly high-risk accounts. Use Authentication apps like Google Authenticator, Microsoft Authenticator, or LastPass.
Utilize Advanced Authentication Methods
Users can use non-password-based methods in addition to multi-factor authentication. Many of these methods are great for adding an extra layer of security. Some examples include unlocking an iPhone with Touch ID or face recognition. This method allows the system to identify the authorized user via their face, fingerprint, or voice. This makes it much more difficult for a hacker to access important information if, by chance, they gain access to your device.
Test Their Strength
Once you create a new password, it is super important that you test it. This can be done with an online testing tool that determines the strength and likelihood of a password being discovered. A common choice is the Password Strength Checker by Microsoft, which is available in the app store. This app can test the strength of a password and help you generate complex new ones.
Encrypt Your Passwords
Encryption is an excellent way of providing additional password security. This is helpful even if a hacker steals your password. The best practice is to consider non-reversible end-to-end encryption, helping protect passwords in transit through the network.
Avoid Storing Your Passwords in an Unsafe Location
Once your passwords are chosen, it is essential to ensure they remain hidden. Be sure you avoid storing passwords either digitally or on paper. If you need to keep track of passwords, consider using a password management tool, as mentioned above. Those with bad intentions can steal information that is easily accessible.
Password Security: Final Thoughts
As technology advances, so do the tactics of hackers and cybercriminals. Whether you own a business or use the internet regularly, staying safe online has never been more critical. By practicing good cybersecurity practices and obtaining cyber liability insurance, you can ensure you have peace of mind regarding the safety of your personal and business devices. Request a non-obligation quote today!
By ensuring safe cybersecurity best practices, you can rest easy Read more
With cyber extortion affecting multiple Canadian businesses, now is a Read more
With remote and hybrid work now the norm in Ontario, Read more
