Today is World Password Day, Here Are Ways to Protect Your Password and Personal Security

Today is World Password's Day!

This event has been observed every first Thursday of May since the year of 2013 to raise awareness on the significance of creating strong and unique passwords and applying safety measures to ensure that every one's personal information is private and confidential.

The history of passwords could be traced back to the 1960's when it was utilized to secure accounts from unauthorized access in computing environments. According to HIPAA Journal, researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) started using the Compatible Time-Sharing System (CTSS) in 1961, which paved the way for a password-driven system to prevent security breach.

However, there are still risks with using passwords, which is the primary issue that the World Password Day wants to shed light on. Among those risks is the ability of hackers to breach accounts through stolen passwords.

Phishing is one way of targeting users by tricking them into revealing their passwords through text messages (SMiShing), email, and phone (vishing).

To prevent these risks, experts highly suggest users to adopt two-factor authentication. In fact, Microsoft said that the two-factor authentication can block more than 99% of automated attacks on several accounts.

Is Your Password Hackable?

Hive Systems published a chart in 2020 that showed the relative strength of a password "against a brute force cracking attempt" depending on the passwords' length and complexity The data was drawn on how long it would take a hacker to breach your password by merely using a desktop computer with a "top-tier graphics card."

Check the chart below, to see if your password is hackable.

The chart underscored the importance of having strong and complex passwords when they have a combination of numbers, symbols, and the presence of both low- and upper-case letters.

Tips for Password Security

In the spirit of World Password Day, this is the time for you to review your password security and ensure that you are safe from any forms of hacking. Here are the following steps you must follow:

1. Create a strong and unique password for each account you own.

2. Strictly use a combination of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols for your passwords.

3. Come up with easy to remember passphrases instead of passwords.

4. The standard minimum should be 14 characters.

5. Ensure that you never reuse passwords on multiple accounts, or use one password to all accounts.

6. Don't be cliché by inputting information in your passwords that is already visible in your social media accounts such as your birthday, town, and any info that everyone knows.

7. A two-factor authentication is the key for protecting sensitive information.

8. Enable a secure password generator that can generate random strong passwords.

9. Avoid using commonly used passwords.

10. It is highly recommended to use a password manager that can secure storage and generate strong passwords or complex passphrases.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Joaquin Victor Tacla