Cybersecurity Tips: Strong Complex Passwords

Strong passwords are no longer good enough. You need a strong, complex password that ideally contains a series of letters, numbers and special characters.

The rate in which cyber-attacks occur is becoming all too common. Businesses and individuals need to keep themselves and their data safe from cybercriminals who lay in waiting.

In order to help combat the threat of cyber-attack, we have outlined 5 tips you can implement to help keep your business, data and systems safe.

5 Tips to Creating A Strong Password

1. Length, upper and lowercase, and special characters. Think about a password you use. How complex is it? You should consider using passwords that contain a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters to make it harder for software to crack. For example, a weak password could be: password. A strong complex password could be something like Pa55wOrd19! 
2. Make them unique. Don’t use the same password more than once and for different systems/logins. If you do your risk becomes greater of being hacked.
3. Change your password frequently. Don’t use the same password for long periods of time regardless of how complex it is. Changing your passwords frequently makes it much harder for cybercriminals to crack your password.
4. Keep it to yourself. Don’t share passwords or write them down. Doing so places you at greater risk of someone using your password without your knowledge.
5. Use 2FA (two factor authentication). Two factor authentication is an additional security layer that’s becoming more commonplace. It adds an extra layer of protection should someone have your password – they need access to your phone or email to then enter a one time passcode (OTP) thats pushed to your registered device to authenticate your login session.

Find out more

Technology and cybersecurity are continuously evolving. At IT Backbone we understand the cybersecurity risks and how to stay ahead of potential vulnerabilities. To find out more, contact us or follow our blog for the latest information on keeping safe online.