World Password Day — Be Online, Safe and Secure
Every year first Thursday of May month is celebrated as World Password Day. It celebrated first in 2013. This day reminds everyone to keep a good habit of password hygiene or change your password more often in a year. Due to the unresolved crisis from the starting of COVID-19, cybersecurity services providers like Sattrix Information Security have become more attentive regarding the protection of identity and access management of the remote workforce.
COVID-19 was started to spread in the world in February 2020 and the 2nd wave effect is still going on in many countries like India, UAE, UK, USA, France, Brazil and many more. Many countries in the world have caught in the hands of hackers from this COVID-19 themed attack. 2020 is become a historic year on the earth not only for pandemic waves, but also for several cyberattacks.
Cyberattacks on Different Industries from 2020
- As per the Times of India report, malicious software attacked Telangana and AP Power Utilities and all of their servers went down as all the systems were interlinked. After rectifying the glitch on an immediate basis, all systems were up.
- Ransomware attack in March on one of the biggest Czech Republic’s virus testing hub that disrupts operations and caused surgery postponements.
- According to the CRN report, IT service company — Cognizant dealt with the Maze Ransomware attack. A group of attackers had demanded money not to release stolen data to the public.
- University of California San Francisco (UCSF) was under attack of ransomware in a limited part of Medicine’s IT environment. The encrypted data was crucial for academic work and they paid approximately $1.14 million behind the malware attack.
Usage of online platforms for education, entertainment, utility bill payments, shopping, etc. was highest in 2020 and it is increased day by day as per the ongoing situation.
As per the survey held by LastPass:
- 64% of people carry on with the same password in fear of forgetting them
- 59% of personas don’t change their password after a breach is reported in the news
- 66% of fellows use the same text string while resetting/changing the password
People are giving an opportunity to hackers or cyber criminals by not following strong password guidelines. If once a hacker hijacked your account and if you are using the same type of password across all your accounts, then that hacker has now access to all of them.
Why This Day is Important?
- Become more important than ever. So much sensitive information is online — for example — shopping sites, bill payment sites, banking accounts, etc. This list goes on and on. While using such sites make sure you use strong passwords.
- Add an extra layer of security. In this stage, use multi-factor authentication while login online accounts. Today is the best day to implement this thing.
- Seek for help. There are cybersecurity services provider companies that provide 24x7x365 dedicated security services for networks, systems, applications, servers and all types of IT landscapes.
On this World Password Day, Sattrix Information Security took the opportunity to share views on security measures and best practices around passwords.
Security Measures for Password
- Set new passwords every time: It is an obvious thing that you must not use the same password again. To make it more stronger mix your password with Uppercase letter, special character and numbers.
- Don’t store the password on any device: It is most recommended that you don’t store your any important account’s password whether on desktop or mobile as phishers are very expert to decrypt any small clue without fail.
- Don’t use predictable text: It is advisable that you must not use any predictable date or name related to you or your beloved ones as fraudsters use many games to steal such significant information.
Conclude
On this World Password Day, remember that your online presence security is in your hand. This day serves as an important reminder that the need for a solid password and improve cybersecurity posture are easy to implement and anyone can do that.
