Passwords Matter, more than ever.
#PasswordsMatter Every Day
On average 30,000 new websites are hacked every day. — Forbes.
This statistic was published several years sago, but is still quoted widely and often, though it seems dated thrse days.
So many of us are fully online after the pandemic got us all using our devices work-from-home and conduct much of our social and shopping activities online. We have smart devices littering our homes to turn on and off lamps, music, burglar alarms and even monitoring our blood pressure, heartbeats, steps, and more, 24/7.
Old fashioned Identity Theft, theivery and amateur hacking has grown way worse, despite all the precautions that major companies take to protect their online clients and activity.
Yes, you are at risk. Yet there is something you can do.
And probably don’t.
Create More and Better Passwords!
As any hacker knows, it’s really bad to use the same password for multiple accounts.
Vendors give guidance and set rules these days to keep us safe from known password traps by using upper and lower case letter with numbers and special characters. Some even mandate changing passwords every three months, etc., etc.
More articles than ever exist on online with practical suggestion for what not to do.
Yes, some things sound so simple, but I come across clients and colleagues who fail at all of them, and seem immune to my pleas that they better protect themselves.
After all, the entire econonmy is online from banking and credit card records, business transactions and intellectual property, even our medicla files. and of ocurse “private” communications via text and email. We are vulnerable 24/7/365.
Here are three articles that help focus us on what’s so. We are all vulnerable, especially if we’re not paying attention:
• • •
Hackers guessed the world’s most common password in under 1 second—make sure yours isn’t on the list:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/11/23/most-common-passwords-of-2022-make-sure-yours-isnt-on-the-list.html
• • •
These cybersecurity tips from a former hacker can make you 98% less vulnerable: ‘You’re raising the bar’:
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/10/20/former-hacker-kevin-mitnick-tips-to-protect-your-personal-info-online.html
• • •
115 cybersecurity statistics + trends to know in 2023:
https://us.norton.com/blog/emerging-threats/cybersecurity-statistics
• • •
In your own world:
Do take care of this. Extending from what is suggested in the articles cited, please do three things asap:
Stop using the same or almost identical passwords on multiple sites.
Stop using family names, pet names, birthdates, addresses, and other easily found personal info in the password.
Get one of the modern full-featured Password Vault software services to protect your valuable data and logins. It shoudl liv ein the Cloud, beccuase fire, flood, and othe rnsturals disasters are no time to permamnetly lose access to your passwords. A paper notebook sitting next to your computer or in a junk drawer, or an easily breached word processing or spreadsheet document on your digital desktop is no protection at all.
Ready, set, go to it!
#PasswordsMatter
— Diane
