Cyber Tip - Use Strong Passwords & Enable 2FA
Strong passwords are important for keeping your online accounts and personal information safe from cyber criminals, and enabling Two-Factor Authentication provides an additional layer of security.
Passwords are the key to your digital life. As the first line of defence against cyber criminals gaining access to your online accounts, passwords should be only known to you.
However, if your passwords fall into the wrong hands, the consequences of losing your online accounts, important personal information and finances could be dire, especially if you use the same password across multiple accounts. Cyber criminals could use your email to access many of your other online accounts, impersonate you and then carry out scam-related crimes on people you know.
There are many different methods that cyber criminals can use to get a hold of your passwords. One method is to use automated tools to crack your passwords. Cyber criminals can conduct dictionary or brute-force attacks to guess your password by checking your password against ‘password dictionaries’ or lists of commonly-used passwords and character combinations. The shorter and less complex your password is, the quicker it is for cyber criminals to come up with the correct combination of characters in your password. For example, the password 123456 can be hacked in less than one second.
To keep your online accounts and the information within them safe from cyber criminals, it is essential to use a strong password which is long and random and hence not easy to crack.
