Observe World Password Day By Ensuring Safety Review of our Passwords

When we talk about our lives today, it is absolutely not possible neither feasible to visualise ourselves without digital footprints around us. From a 3-year-old kid who is going to kindergarten to any senior citizen who wishes to relax by watching old movies on Amazon Prime, our digital footprints are part of life.  Well, when we say digital, we mean accessing information what we desire. So, as a matter of next level, passwords have become an extremely critical part of our digital identity. On daily basis, infact on every hourly basis, we deal with passwords for almost everything now starting with smartphones, emails, net banking, Netflix accounts, and more. Remembering multiple passwords can be difficult but easy passwords are often vulnerable to misuse by cybercriminals.

Having said this, 7th May is Observed as World Password Day. Well, this may sound weird that after all, we are finally talking about 'Passwords' day. Well, there is a need for this as these passwords hold our valuables and confidentiality, so these are important. And anything and everything which is important deserves to be remembered and acknowledged at least once a year. The purpose of such annual remembrance is to acknowledge the importance of keeping passwords.

Venkat Krishnapur, Vice President of Engineering and Managing Director, McAfee India commented for this World Passwords Day, by saying, "Passwords hold the key to our digital lives – from financial information to corporate documentation, personal photos and more. They are the first line of defence in safeguarding vital online information from cybercriminals. We tend to create and use multiple accounts for personal and professional use - more the accounts, the more user names and passwords we seem to accumulate. Data breaches are making headlines and our poor password habits are fuelling the fire. In the event of a breach, compromised login credentials and passwords are sold on the darknet for a bargain. Hackers attempt using those credentials to access as many accounts as possible, fully aware that people often use the same password for multiple accounts."

Cybercriminals often reference the most common password combinations as their first login-guessing tool. Commenting on the need for safeguarding and how to remain safe from such cybercriminals by having a strong password, Mr. Krishnapur also said, "Use complex passwords and well-built passphrases that you can memorise. If possible, passwords should consist of at least 12 or more characters. Layer up your passwords and use a combination of numbers, letters and special characters. Choose unique passwords across all of your accounts. To make life easier, use a password manager to keep track of multiple accounts. Wherever possible, opt for two-factor or multi-factor authentication for an extra layer of security, as it requires multiple levels of verification."

The 5Ps (Passwords, Phishing, People, Patching and Privileges) are the most common causes for breaches. Passwords would certainly be one of the top P’s to manage, to ensure you stay safe online.

Rakshit Tandon, Cybersecurity Expert

Mr. Rakshit Tandon, a cybersecurity expert in a conversation said, "We are extremely depended on digital activities. And cybercriminals are actively evolving themselves. So if they are evolving we as a common user must have to remain agile towards our digital protections and precautions. In order to remain safe, it is important to continuously keep a check on our passwords and make sure they cant be leaked." Mr Tandon is committed towards cybersecurity-related awareness and education and also advises police administration for resolving any cybersecurity-related issue whenever required.

Mr. Dinesh Bareja, Enterprise Cybersecurity Expert, Advisor Cyber Peace Foundation

Putting across another aspect of virtual presence, Dinesh Bareja, Advisor Cyber Peace Foundation and an enterprise Cyber Security Expert, said, " It is a common understanding that cybersecurity breaches happen due to negligence. On the other hand, cybercriminals these days have become very smart. So, in order to remain safe on the internet, it is imperative to have a strong and updated password control on anything that is connected to the digital world."

So, this World Password Day, it is advised to review your defence and diligently revamp your passwords and enjoy the lockdown period with Internet.