You cannot be serious!
I’ve just been reading the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) report on UK cyber awareness and security. It’s probably not something on the Amazon best sellers list, but interesting nevertheless. It was actually published in 2019, but I suspect that the results are still applicable today – and if that is correct then it’s seriously worrying!
One of the quotes in it was from Troy Hunt, publisher of the Have I Been Pwned website where you can check whether your login/password details have been compromised. He says:
“Making good password choices is the single biggest control consumers have over their own personal security posture.”
And yet, the report goes on to note, that the most regularly used passwords that have been breached to access sensitive information include:
- 123456 – 23.2 million occurrences
- 123456789 – 7.7 million occurrences
- qwerty – 3.8 million occurrences
- password – 3.6 million occurrences.
Really! After all this time, and I don’t know how many reports, articles, horror stories and general hints, tips and helpful suggestions and people are still using simple, easily cracked passwords to protect their most sensitive information.
Dos and Don’ts for Passwords
So, at the risk of being boring and repetitive, here is a short list of Don’ts and Do’s to help you keep safe online.
- DON’T use the same password for multiple sites
- DON’T use simple, easily guessed passwords (especially names or single words)
- DON’T keep a record of your passwords where it can easily be seen by others
- DO use non-dictionary or multiple, random words
- DO include numbers, letters and non-alphabetic characters (?!£$ etc)
- DO use two-factor authentication wherever practical.
Work with Us
If you would like more help or guidance with regard to choosing strong passwords, then download our free Practical Guide from the Performance Plus website: https://www.performanceplus.co.uk/free-downloads/
If you would like to learn more about online security and the ISO 27001 Information Security Standard, then contact us on:
Tel: 01284 330400
Email: info@performanceplus.co.uk