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BEST PRACTICES & STRATEGIES
That’s why cybercriminals will try variations based Make strong, complex passwords. For starters,
on certain personal details when they try to brute- long ones are always better than short ones. Make
force accounts. Place of birth? Favorite food? An sure to include numbers, lowercase and uppercase
important anniversary date? Easily found on the letters, as well as symbols. The more complex it is,
Internet. Most of this information is available on so- the harder it will be for cybercriminals to crack the
cial media or other popular places online. That’s code.
because we leave a digital trail for almost every-
thing we do. When data isn’t easy to obtain, cyber- Regular maintenance is key. Even if you have
criminals have other methods to resort to. Tech- great passwords, it’s still a good idea to regularly
niques like social engineering — where cybercrimi- check in on your account security. If you hear of a
nals disguise themselves as friends, family or fig- data breach, take the time to make sure your infor-
ures of authority to trick a user into taking a certain mation hasn’t been compromised. Change pass-
action online — are powerful, and can easily trick words regularly—and don’t just make a small edit to
us into giving up personal, sensitive information. the existing one. Make sure every password you
create is as unique as the last.
Consider biometric security. Many phones today Use a password manager. We all know the pass-
have thumbprint scanners (think Apple’s Touch ID). word struggle too well. Look to a password man-
Voice recognition technologies are advancing, too. agement solution, like True Key by Intel Security to
We’re rapidly entering an age where we can use generate secure, complex logins for your accounts
our own bodies to verify our identities. While it’s and store them for you. You’ll never have to remem-
certainly convenient, biometric security may not ber a password again—how do you like that?
replace all of our passwords. But it will serve as
another layer of security when authenticating into Use multi-factor authentication. Anytime you can
devices, confirming that we are who we say we are. require multiple login-steps to access a device, take
advantage of it. This makes a huge difference in
terms of your account security. A complex pass-
Basics are the basics for good reason. At the end of the
day, there are certain password best practices that eve- word plus text message confirmation? A PIN plus a
ryone should follow. Use these rules today and immedi- fingerprint? These are great security features, and
ately improve your security posture. are even stronger when paired.
To learn more about World Password Day, please visit
https://passwordday.org. ◊
M
MediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia ediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia
That’s why cybercriminals will try variations based Make strong, complex passwords. For starters,
on certain personal details when they try to brute- long ones are always better than short ones. Make
force accounts. Place of birth? Favorite food? An sure to include numbers, lowercase and uppercase
important anniversary date? Easily found on the letters, as well as symbols. The more complex it is,
Internet. Most of this information is available on so- the harder it will be for cybercriminals to crack the
cial media or other popular places online. That’s code.
because we leave a digital trail for almost every-
thing we do. When data isn’t easy to obtain, cyber- Regular maintenance is key. Even if you have
criminals have other methods to resort to. Tech- great passwords, it’s still a good idea to regularly
niques like social engineering — where cybercrimi- check in on your account security. If you hear of a
nals disguise themselves as friends, family or fig- data breach, take the time to make sure your infor-
ures of authority to trick a user into taking a certain mation hasn’t been compromised. Change pass-
action online — are powerful, and can easily trick words regularly—and don’t just make a small edit to
us into giving up personal, sensitive information. the existing one. Make sure every password you
create is as unique as the last.
Consider biometric security. Many phones today Use a password manager. We all know the pass-
have thumbprint scanners (think Apple’s Touch ID). word struggle too well. Look to a password man-
Voice recognition technologies are advancing, too. agement solution, like True Key by Intel Security to
We’re rapidly entering an age where we can use generate secure, complex logins for your accounts
our own bodies to verify our identities. While it’s and store them for you. You’ll never have to remem-
certainly convenient, biometric security may not ber a password again—how do you like that?
replace all of our passwords. But it will serve as
another layer of security when authenticating into Use multi-factor authentication. Anytime you can
devices, confirming that we are who we say we are. require multiple login-steps to access a device, take
advantage of it. This makes a huge difference in
terms of your account security. A complex pass-
Basics are the basics for good reason. At the end of the
day, there are certain password best practices that eve- word plus text message confirmation? A PIN plus a
ryone should follow. Use these rules today and immedi- fingerprint? These are great security features, and
ately improve your security posture. are even stronger when paired.
To learn more about World Password Day, please visit
https://passwordday.org. ◊
M
MediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia ediaBUZZ Pte Ltd - Independant ePublisher for Asia
