Password Day: These are practices that put the security of digital accounts at risk

The password is still a widespread means of protecting access to digital services, however The popularity of its use does not mean that users know how to create a powerful onesince many persist in unsafe practices such as always using the same thing or using easy-to-guess words or combinations of numbers.

This Password Day is celebrated Thursday, May 4, a date that seeks to raise awareness of the importance of this security element Prevent identity theft, fraud and snooping In personal accounts such as email, social media or bank accounts.

In this context, experts like Kaspersky’s warn that there are still 20 percent of Spaniards They always use the same passwords to protect their accountsa practice that runs counter to more common recommendations that include reviewing existing keys and creating new, more secure keys.

Specifically, since the recommendations are always the same and already known, to raise awareness of the importance of a good password, the opposite process is chosen this time: Bad practices that increase the possibility of a user’s account being “hacked”.

In this sense, and following Kaspersky’s warning, Use the same password in all accounts puts control of those accounts and the information contained in them at risk. This is because if someone’s credentials are leaked in a security breach, the cybercriminal who obtains them will be able to access the rest of the user’s accounts effortlessly, just by trying to enter a username and password into different services.

From NordPass, they delve into this bad practice by pointing out which accounts a user stays active but doesn’t use, sometimes because they’ve forgotten about them. Therefore, it indicates importance Find out the exact number of active accounts and delete unused onesTo avoid loopholes in managing your passwords.

Another common practice is to use weak passwords. They point out from NordPass that they are usually combinations of numbers, letters, and symbols that are easy to use on a keyboard, such as the typical and totally unsafe “123456”, or even the word “password” or “password” itself. Proper names (Andrea, Alejandro, and Cristina) are also identified among the least secure keys, as are those related to sports, such as a favorite soccer team.

Conversely, if you choose a long password, At least 10 to 12 characters long, combining numbers, uppercase and lowercase letters, and a symbolIn sequences beyond recognition, this line of defense for digital services will become even more powerful.

Convenience and little desire to come up with and remember new passwords are the main cause of failure, as well as for them It is useful to turn to a password managerwhere keys store information in encrypted form.

Finally, there are those who create a password with the intention of never changing it again. But this also presents a risk, even if it is a strong key, because if it is stolen or lost, cybercriminals can use it for a long period of time, causing even greater harm to the victim. thus, Passwords should be reviewed regularly and changed every few months.

To summarize, “Using different passwords for each account, as well as making them strong and changing them frequently is key to keeping an account secure,” says Mark Rivero, Kaspersky’s chief security researcher.