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Reduce, reuse, recycle is good advice for the environment. However, it can be dangerous when it comes to your password. Over 80% of data breaches happen because of weak, stolen, or compromised passwords.
Do you have any applications or profiles that share the same password? Maybe you even have one you use variations of whenever you create a new account. Reusing passwords might feel like a time saver, but it’s a dangerous mistake that can destroy your data privacy.
If one account is compromised in a data breach, hackers can try the same password on all your other accounts. Depending on where you reused the password, this can give them access to your email, bank accounts, health records, social media, and more.
Pro-tip: Get a password manager to protect your “vault” of classified credentials, generate secure combinations, and auto-populate the login fields for your saved accounts!
It only takes one hack to compromise everything. Even if some of your accounts have strong security measures, if one has weak security and you reused the login credentials, that weak account becomes the chink in your armor. Hackers can buy or steal huge lists of usernames and passwords from the dark web.
Cyber criminals often use stolen login information from breaches to try logging into other accounts in an automated process called credential stuffing. Reusing passwords makes you more susceptible to this attack, making the hackers’ job more manageable.
Hackers can even use brute-force attacks to guess login credentials. When this happens, hackers use software to try millions of different password combinations until they guess yours correctly. If you reuse a weak password, it’s much easier for them to crack it and access all your accounts using the same weak link.
Using unique login credentials for every account makes it much harder for hackers to access your personal information and finances. That means at least 12 characters (20 is better), with a combination of numbers, letters, and symbols, to prevent unwanted access to your accounts. It’s also essential to avoid making a password out of any information that can be found on your social media, like your pet’s name. Change your passwords so they are varied and complex, and your risk of a data breach plummets.
Commonwealth Sentinel offers a comprehensive suite of cyber security services to safeguard your organization from digital threats. To schedule a free consultation, click here or contact us at (502) 320-9885.