We have one more “year in review” for you with 2018 drawing to a close. This time it’s this year’s top ten of high profile users with the worst passwords over the last 12 months. Why is it relevant, you may ask? Well, cryptoinvestors ranked in third.
The “Worst Password Offenders” annual rating is published by the password management company Dashlane with the mission to highlight password-related mistakes carried out by high profile individuals and entities to raise awareness among the general public.
This year, in addition to cryptocurrency owners, the Pentagon and Google also made it to the list. One might think: if the US Department of Defense is not able to enforce a strict password ecosystem, who is? Indeed, everyone is prone to make the same mistakes.
And the situation might get worse. According to Dashlane, the average internet user has currently over 200 digital accounts with passwords — a number that may double in five years. And you get it: more accounts, more passwords, more risks.
“Passwords are the first line of defense against cyber attacks. Weak passwords, reused passwords and poor organizational password management can easily put sensitive information at risk.” — said Emmanuel Schalit, Dashlane CEO.
So, what are the best password security practices? Cybersecurity experts recall three very simple rules to prevent incidents. Take note.
- All digital accounts should be password protected — including email accounts, servers, applications (apps) or anything that may contain sensitive personal data.
- Passwords should not contain names or proper nouns that can easily be associated with the user — or weak number sequences like the user’s date of birth. Passwords should exceed eight characters and include a mix of letters, number and symbols.
- Users should not reuse passwords — each account should be protected with a unique password.
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