David Thacker
Password vulnerabilities are the small mistakes that can lead to large scale organizational data breaches. The largest security breaches in the recent times have occurred when data users assumed that their personal data was locked by a password.
There are many incidents of social media accounts getting hacked such as Mark Zuckerberg’s Pinterest and Twitter accounts getting hacked.
Additionally, IP cameras hacked due to vulnerabilities have also caught attention. Hikvision is the world’s leading supplier in award-winning video surveillance products. They also provide cybersecurity tips to improve passwords and minimize security concerns. Apply for cyber security course in hyderabad to know more
Ways to strengthen passwords
The following tips can prove helpful to improve passwords and reduce the threat of cyberattacks.
- Long and strong passwords: A longer password is proven to be more secure. A strong password consists of combination of uppercase, lowercase, number, and special characters.
- Change default passwords: The default passwords set by companies are accessible by them. They need to be changed into a complex and strong password to keep the data secure.
- Use a password manager: Password managers can help prevent password reuse and can also generate unique passwords. It also stores the password database, which is itself secure with a long and complex password in the cloud that can be accessed from all personal devices.
- Enable lock-out feature: This feature enables when there are numerous invalid login attempts. The user receives login attempt notifications and prevents brute-force password attacks.
- Use multi-factor authentication (MFA): This process requires a two-step authentication. One being the password itself and the second using their smartphone or hardware token. For example, many websites SMS a one-time-password (OTP) to the registered mobile number.
- Use hardware tokens: Hardware keys are a new form of hardware tokens. These hardware tokens can use physical interfaces like USB or wireless interface. Multiple keys can be bound to one account that ensures higher security.
- Avoid reusing passwords: With the high number of data breaches, passwords for certain sites may be compromised. The same password being used for another site makes the other one insecure too. Thus, each website should be given unique and different passwords.
- Avoid sharing accounts: Using individual and unique usernames ensure individual accountability.
Conclusion
With the growing use of technology to store private and precious data, their security becomes the utmost priority. There is no way to be 100% safe from cyberattacks and hackers. However, abiding by the steps mentioned in this article, the data and information stored will be at less of a risk. Learn more about cyber world at cyber security course in bangalore
