Spooky Cyber Threats – Day 2
October is #CyberSecMonth and with this week leading up to Halloween, our Business Engagement Officer Hannah steps in to the mind of a cyber criminal to highlight common cyber security issues and help you #BeCyberSmart. Today the focus is on ‘How to protect your online accounts’.
“You use one or more of the following passwords: 123456, 123456789, Qwerty, Password, 111111, 12345678, Abc123, 1234567, Password1, 1234567890.
“How do I know this?
“These are the most common types of passwords and can be instantly cracked by a computer. I can now login to your online accounts where I can steal sensitive data, impersonate you, lock you out of your account, steal money and more.
“You don’t use these passwords?
“Then you probably use your pets name, a family members name or maybe even a player from your favourite football team, with a couple of special characters like !, $ or @ and perhaps a number like 1, 3 or 7. You do this because you cannot possibly remember 50+ passwords. If you use coping strategies to make life easier for you, then it’s easier for me to commit crime!”
ADVICE - How to protect your online accounts:
- - Strong passwords made up of 3 random words take longer for a computer to crack. Examples can be found here https://www.policedsc.com/images/PASSWORD_INFOGRAPHIC_2.pdf
- - Password managers store all your passwords to reduce the burden of remembering. You can then create strong, unique passwords for every online account. Should one password be compromised, your other accounts remain secure. Here are the benefits of password managers https://www.policedsc.com/images/PDSC_BENEFITS_OF_PASSWORD_MANAGERS_LEAFLET_002.pdf
- - Use 2 Factor Authentication which provides an extra layer of security should your password be compromised. More information can be found here https://www.policedsc.com/security-advice/password-policy/how-to-implement-two-factor-authentication-2fa
Hannah Khoo is the Business Engagement Officer for Police Crime Prevention Initiatives, delivering the award winning ‘In the Community’ programme and drop-in Digital Security Clinics. Hannah’s role sees her visit local businesses with police officers to carry out cyber security assessments, provide practical support and share detailed advice about cyber crime and online security. Hannah completed a BSc Honours degree in Computer Security and Forensics at the University of Greenwich and was named as one of Britain’s top 50 business advisers by Enterprise Nation in 2020.