16th April 2021, Kathmandu
One cannot ignore the importance of a strong password while improving security online. Using hard-to-guess passwords or passphrases provide optimum security to your devices and online accounts. However, despite several security awareness programs, users fail to form strong passwords, leaving their online security at risk.
The UK’s National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has warned that 15% of the British public is using the names of their pets as their passwords amid a rise in the demand for online services.
The findings revealed that many people in the UK are still reliant on memorable phrases to create passwords, with 13% of those questioned favoring significant dates, and 6% relying on their favorite sports teams.
Boosting Password Security
The NCSC’s Cyber Aware campaign advised users and organizations to follow certain password practices to enhance online security. These include:
- Use a strong and separate password for your email. If a hacker gets into your email, they could reset your other account passwords and access information you have saved about yourself or your business. Your email password should be strong and different from all your other passwords.
- Create strong passwords using three random words – when you use different passwords for your important accounts, it can be hard to remember them all.
- Do not use words that can be guessed (like your pet’s name). You can include numbers and symbols if you need to. For example, “RedPantsTree4!”
- Saving your passwords in your web browser will help you manage them and can protect you against certain cybercrimes, such as those invoked through fake websites.
