Password Security Tips

There are several best practices to help keep your information secure. It is important to change login information from the generic defaults. For example, change the username from admin when possible. The Department of Homeland Security recommends the following best practices for password. In addition, we have included some examples.

October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM), and as such, we encourage employees, vendors, friends, and family to take proactive steps to enhance personal and collective cybersecurity. NCSAM is a collaborative effort between government and industry to raise awareness about the importance of cybersecurity and to ensure that all Americans have the resources they need to be safer and more secure online. Wolf Technology Group is a NCSAM Champion helping to increase awareness and can assist your business with cybersecurity best practices.

1. Make your password eight characters for longer: Several places have adopted the standard of eight characters including capital and lowercase letters including numbers and special characters.
2. Use a long passphrase: Use a news headline or book title and include capitalization and punctuation to make it more complex.
3. Do not make passwords easy to guess: Do not use personal information such as pet’s names, children’s names, date of birth, etc.
4. Avoid using common words in your passphrase: Instead, substitute letters with numbers and punctuation marks or symbols. For example, @ can replace the letter “A” and an exclamation point (!) can replace the letters “I” or “L”. For example, !nt3rn3t or C@t@l!n@
5. Get creative: Use phonetic replacements, such as “PH” instead of “F”. Or make deliberate, but obvious misspellings, such as “enjin” instead of “engine
6. Never share your password: Do not share your passwords with others including unsolicited phone calls, emails, texts or direct messages requesting your password.
7. Unique account, unique password: Use different passwords for all account. If you use the same password and your password is breached, then hackers have access into all of your accounts.
8. Use stronger authentication: Opt for two-factor authentication (2FA) or multi-factor authentication (MFA). Although, it is important to note that 2FA or MFA is not recommended if you travel and need access on the airplane because text messages cannot be received.

As a user it can be extremely frustrating to have so many usernames and passwords plus having to change them regularly. However, the goal is to protect you from hackers but sometimes it causes you to be careless which is worse. For instance, reusing the same password for multiple accounts, writing down your password in an unsecured location or using a pattern. Some people recommend password vaults like LastPass, but the issue with that is hackers are constantly trying to break into password vaults because it is a jackpot. Companies that boast being 100 percent or very secure become a target for hackers.

We must work together, and all do our part to help build a more secure cyber world. Learn how you can be cyber smart this National Cybersecurity Awareness Month at staysafeonline.org. Schedule your free intrusion test today for your business or contact Wolf Technology Group to learn how we can help keep your business secure. We provide full-service IT support from cybersecurity to user support. Learn more about our Managed IT Services.