Passwords are the front door to your money, personal data, and secrets. More passwords mean more vulnerabilities. Unless you choose strong passwords, you are more vulnerable to cybercrime than most people.
- A password of 8 standard letters contains 209 billion possible combinations, but a computer is able to calculate this instantly.
- Adding one upper case letter to a password dramatically alters a computer’s potential to crack a password, extending it to 22 minutes.
- Having a long mix of upper and lower case letters, symbols and numbers is the best way make your password more secure.
- A 12-character password containing at least one upper case letter, one symbol and one number would take 34,000 years for a computer to crack.
According to hacking statistics, the most commonly used method for hacking accounts is password spraying. This involves taking easy-to-guess passwords and going through a list of usernames until the right combination gives access to an account. And even if your password is a bit more complicated, with “people search sites”such as Truthfinder or Instant Checkmate that make it easy to find someone’s personal information, you’re still not all that safe.
A 2020 study found that 99% of the people surveyed reused their passwords between work accounts or between work and personal accounts. Unfortunately, the passwords being reused are often weak as well. “123456” being one of the most popular!
Password vulnerability is a real threat and should be addressed constantly! An estimated 81% of Data Breaches are due to poor password security. Educate yourself, your colleagues, your employees and your clients.
Download our PDF and share it! Post it on your company noticeboard, break room, lunch area etc….anywhere that will raise awareness and promote good habits!