IT Outcomes
Password Best Practice- Essential Guide 2024
Password Best Practice - Essential Guide 2024
In today's digital age, password protection is the first line of defence against cyber threats. But with the frequent use of passwords, people tend to overlook their significance and make careless mistakes, which could lead to breaches in security. So, what are the best password practices recommended today and what is required for Cyber Essentials? Let's find out.
Understanding the Importance of Password Security
In today's digital era, password security plays a critical role in safeguarding personal and corporate data. As cyber threats continue to evolve, understanding the importance of password security is essential for protecting your digital safety.
The Growing Cyber Threat Landscape and Your Digital Safety
The cyber threat landscape is constantly evolving, with hackers employing more sophisticated techniques to compromise sensitive information. From data breaches to identity theft, individuals and businesses are at risk of falling victim to cyberattacks.
Protecting your digital safety starts with implementing strong password security measures. Weak passwords make it easier for hackers to gain unauthorised access to your accounts and sensitive information. By utilising complex and unique passwords, you can significantly reduce the risk of becoming a target.
Business Implications: Protecting Corporate Data and Customer Privacy
In the corporate world, password security is of utmost importance. Businesses handle vast amounts of corporate data and customer information, making them prime targets for cybercriminals. A single compromised password can lead to severe consequences, including financial loss, damage to reputation, and breaches of customer privacy.
Ensuring strong password security within your organisation is crucial for protecting corporate data and maintaining customer trust. Implementing strict password policies, such as regular password updates and multifactor authentication, can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorised access to sensitive information.
The Weak Link: How Passwords Get Compromised
Passwords can become compromised through various methods employed by cybercriminals. Some common techniques include:
- Brute force attacks: Hackers use automated tools to systematically guess passwords until they find the correct one.
- Phishing: Cybercriminals trick users into disclosing their passwords by masquerading as trustworthy entities via email or fake websites.
- Data breaches: When a database containing user passwords is breached, hackers can gain access to the password hashes and use advanced techniques to decode them.
Understanding how passwords get compromised is crucial for protecting your personal and corporate data. By being aware of the weak links in password security, you can take proactive steps to enhance your digital safety.
Password Best Practice
In order to ensure the security of your online accounts and protect sensitive information, it is crucial to follow password best practices. By implementing these guidelines, you can significantly reduce the risk of unauthorised access and data breaches.
Leveraging Password Managers for Secure Authentication
Using a password manager is an excellent way to enhance the security of your passwords. Password managers generate and store complex, unique passwords for each of your accounts, eliminating the need to remember multiple passwords.
By utilising a password manager, you can:
- Create strong, unique passwords for every account
- Auto-fill login credentials, eliminating the risk of typing errors and phishing attacks
- Synchronise passwords across multiple devices for convenient access
- Securely share passwords with trusted individuals
Popular password managers include MyGlue, LastPass, Dashlane, and 1Password.
Cyber Essentials: Incorporating NSCS Guidelines
When it comes to personal and business cybersecurity, it is essential to align your password practices with the National Cyber Security Centre (NSCS) guidelines. These guidelines provide crucial recommendations for defending against common cyber threats.
Some key practices from the NSCS guidelines include:
- Using multi-factor authentication whenever possible
- Regularly updating passwords and avoiding password reuse
- Implementing policies to enforce strong password requirements
- Educating employees on password security best practices
Crafting Strong Passcodes with a Nod to NIST Guidelines
The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers a comprehensive set of guidelines for creating strong and secure passwords.
Key guidelines from NIST include:
- Using longer passwords with a minimum length of 12 characters
- Incorporating a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters
- Avoiding commonly used passwords and personal information
- Regularly updating passwords and avoiding password rotation
By crafting strong passcodes in line with NIST guidelines, you can increase the complexity of your passwords, making them more resistant to brute-force attacks.
Here are some further basics to be aware of:
6 Password “Don'ts”
1. Don’t write passwords on sticky notes
While it may seem like jotting down your passwords can enhance their protection and make it harder for cybercriminals to steal them online, it actually increases the risk of someone stealing them locally
2. Don’t save passwords to your browser
Web browsers are not reliable when it comes to safeguarding passwords and other confidential information such as credit card details and personal identification. They are vulnerable to attacks, and various forms of malware, browser add-ons, and software can exploit their weaknesses to extract sensitive data.
3. Don’t iterate your password (for example, PowerWalker1 to PowerWalker2)
Even though it is a widespread habit among digital users, iterating passwords is not an effective way to safeguard against advanced cyber attacks. Cybercriminals have become highly skilled and can decipher iterated passwords almost instantly.
4. Don’t use the same password across multiple accounts
By doing this, you are providing cybercriminals with an easy chance to take advantage of all your accounts.
5. Don’t capitalise the first letter of your password to meet the “one capitalized letter” requirement
It is common for people to capitalise the first character of their passwords to meet the requirement of having at least one uppercase letter. However, this practice is known to hackers, making it easier for them to determine the location of the capitalised letter.
6. Don’t use “!” to conform with the symbol requirement
However, if you must use it, don’t place it at the end of your password. Placing it anywhere else in the sequence makes your password more secure.
6 Passwords “Do’s”
1. Create long, phrase-based passwords that exchange letters for numbers and symbols
If you select the phrase "Honey, I shrunk the kids," you could transform it into "h0ney1$hrunkth3k!d$" by replacing letters with numbers and symbols. This increases the complexity of your password, making it more difficult for hackers to decipher.
2. Change critical passwords every three months
It is essential to exercise caution when managing passwords that protect sensitive information, as the consequences of a breach can be severe. If a password is used for an extended period, it may provide hackers with sufficient time to decipher it. As a result, it is recommended to update crucial passwords every three months to enhance security.
3. Change less critical passwords every six months
It is important to identify which passwords are critical and which are not. Regardless of their importance, it is recommended to update your passwords regularly, every few months, as a good security practice.
4. Use multifactor authentication
It is your duty to take all necessary measures to prevent malicious cyber attackers from gaining access to your information. One effective method is to implement multiple levels of authentication to create a barrier against them
5. Always use passwords that are longer than eight characters and include numbers, letters and symbols
Increasing the complexity of security measures makes it more difficult for hackers to breach them, which is beneficial for the protection of sensitive information.
6. Use a password manager
By using a password manager, you can eliminate the need to remember multiple passwords, as it securely generates and stores complex, unique passwords for each of your accounts. This can save you time and allow you to focus on more important tasks.