The most common way to make an unauthorized breach into others’ accounts is by guessing or stealing passwords. Poor passwords are easy to crack, which gives cybercriminals an opportunity to gain access to your sensitive data. According to CyberGhost’s research, password guessing, credential stuffing, and brute force are some of the most common ways to steal someone’s credentials.
Everything around us has become digitalized, and we have made significant advancements in the technological front where financial transactions and critical information sharing are done online. The online transfer of data and money is very swift, safe, and effortless when done with proper security measures. However, the cybercrime rate is also rapidly increasing, which is a stumbling block and a global risk to humanity.
When your password is known to hackers, valuable information on your devices is at high risk. The victims must face dire consequences, such as loss of personal data, bank account details, emails, presentations, money, and many more valuables. Nowadays, cybercrimes are prevailing as security breaches have become common. In addition, illegal users enter others’ computers unofficially to carry out unlawful activities, which puts the victims in legal trouble.
So, it is essential to set or create strong passwords, making it more challenging for hackers to access others’ devices. To avoid unwanted trespasses, set up a unique password that is hard to guess. Also, familiarize yourself with how to build a strong password to get intuitive information on the risks of cybersecurity attacks.
Risks of having a poor password
- A weak password is easy to guess, and it could be a loophole through which hackers can easily break into your accounts. Weak passwords put your data and financial transactions at high risk.
- A weak password allows attackers to easily access your bank accounts and transaction details through the password reset feature.
- If you are using the same passwords, then it becomes easy for hackers to find them.
- There is a high risk of installing malware and viruses into your device to gain control over your online activity if the password is simple to guess. This leads to blackmailing and ransomware attacks.
- If you have the same email and password combination for multiple accounts, it becomes easier for hackers to get to your business accounts as well.
- If you do not use a strong password for your online shopping websites, then it gives third parties access to make purchases online through your account on your credit cards.
Key factors to follow while creating a strong password
A strong and secure password setup is a must to prevent cybersecurity breaches on your accounts. Here are a few tips to follow while creating a strong password.
- Set a different password for each online account (email, bank, social media accounts, etc.). Avoid using the same password for multiple accounts.
- Use a lengthy password containing a minimum of 8 characters, including numbers, letters (lowercase and uppercase), and symbols. A long password is more challenging to crack and reduces the risk of cyberattacks.
- Do not use common numbers or word combinations like 0000, 12345, 9999, etc.
- The hackers can easily guess your passwords if you include your personal information like name, age, kid’s name, pet’s name, and favorite place, color, or food while creating a password.
- Hackers try various methods to crack your password. Avoid using consecutive keyboard sequences.
- Do not reveal your password to third parties. Do not note them down on paper or in your notebook.
- Be careful while entering your password in public places. Make sure nobody is watching you while using them in public places like shopping malls, ATMs, general stores, etc.
- Log off or sign out from your devices and accounts after using them to prevent unnecessary risks.
- Avoid signing into your accounts while using unsecured Wi-Fi connections at airports, malls, coffee shops, restaurants, etc. It becomes easy for hackers to snatch your data.
- Click on the option ‘never’ when your internet browser asks permission to save your password information for future use.
Conclusion
In the modern-day world, hacking is a common issue. Cybercriminals are exploring ways to get access to computing devices to carry out illicit activities like stealing valuable data, money, and personal information. So, it is essential to secure the devices and data with strong passwords to avoid unauthorized attacks. Since almost all of our accounts tend to be password-protected, poor password hygiene can have severe consequences. Thus, ensure you’re taking password creation with the utmost attention.
Also Read: Choose A Secure Password For Any Account
