World Password Day: Five tips for setting a strong password

The World Password Day which comes every year of May 02, reminds us of how important it is to have secure password for any kind of services. These days we set passwords highly for net banking, mobile apps, Google accounts and social media portals like Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. Almost anywhere you login either applying for a job on Linkedin or for ordering food on Swiggy or Zomato, you always have to have your username and password. Hence, having a strong password is really important, as they keep your financial credentials and day-to-day lives secure. According to Sophos a global leader in network and endpoint security, ‘123456’ was the most attempted login password in the Mumbai cloud server honeypot that saw more than 1,376 login attempts by cyberattackers within a span of 30 days.

The honeypots were set up in 10 of the most popular Amazon Web Services (AWS) data centers in the world, including California, Frankfurt, Ireland, London, Mumbai, Ohio, Paris, Sao Paulo, Singapore, and Sydney over a 30-day period. A honeypot is a system intended to mimic likely targets of cyberattackers, so that security researchers can monitor cybercriminal behaviors.

In a span of 30 days, there have been some 1,376 login attempts made by cyber criminals with password '123456'. Ironically, this password is also popular globally, as 15,785 login attemps have been made. 

(Image source: Sophos)

Apart from this, password such as 1234, Admin, Ubnt and 12345 have been a tool for login attempts by fraudsters in Mumbai. 

Sunil Sharma, managing director sales, Sophos India & SAARC said, "Passwords are an important aspect of computer security - they are the front line of protection for user accounts in a very wide variety of services and systems. Unfortunately, people are not changing factory default passwords, which cybercriminals are counting on to carry out their attacks.  Building strong, unique passwords and using a password manager to keep track of them is a best security practice everyone should use in this digital age."

Hence, on World Password Day, Sophos recommends five tips for building a stronger password. 

(Image source: Sophos)

1.  Enable multi-factor authentication (MFA): Enable multi-factor authentication wherever possible. This adds an additional layer of protection against someone trying to access personal accounts.

2. Use complex passcodes for devices: It’s not just passwords for email addresses and social media accounts that need to be secure. Ensure that the login for laptops and mobile phones also have complex passcodes.

3. Use a password manager: To give passwords the best possible chance of not appearing on Pwned Passwords, use a properly secured password manager that will create and store secure passwords.

4. Learn how to choose proper passwords: Most of the people end up with dozens of online accounts and have to create passwords all the time. Even with a password manager, create one really excellent password is needed to lock the central ‘password vault.’

5. Use unique passwords for online banking: Sensitive accounts need special passwords. This includes banking and other accounts where financial data is accessed and stored.