In our last blog, we wrote about Cyber Attacks and what to do in the event that one happens to your business. Today we’re going to take a step back from that and address the old adage that “prevention is better than cure.”

What is the cure to a Cyber Attack?

Well, one thing that can be done is to ensure that you have a super-strong password in place to deter potential hackers from trying to break through and causing chaos. We’re going to discuss some of the common ways that hackers try to break through passwords, and give you some tips on creating super-secure passwords to keep you and your data safe.

Ways that hackers attack passwords

There are a couple of common types of attacks that are undertaken by hackers, these include:

Brute force attacks. This is when hackers have a program that is able to cycle through and combination of numbers or letters to try and crack a password. It really is the hacking equivalent of throwing stuff at a wall and seeing what sticks. Generally speaking, any password under 12 characters long is vulnerable to this type of attack.

Dictionary attacks. As the name would imply, this is where the attack cycles through words or groups of words found in a dictionary. This is why it is helpful to create passwords that consist of unexpectedly paired words or words that intersperse numbers or special symbols within them – which we’ll discuss more shortly.

Phishing attacks: There are of course phishing attacks that lure you into providing a password or personal details. These types of attacks are slightly different and we’ve discussed common scams to look out for here.

Tips for creating a secure password

Whilst this advice is not exhaustive, there are a few rules of thumb that you should be following to make the passwords you use more secure.

1. Don’t be obvious. That means nothing like “abcde”, “12345”, and absolutely under no circumstances should you be calling your password, “password.”
2. Don’t use memorable keyboard paths. This is kind of a sub point to the first, but passwords like “qwerty” are also a definite no.
3. Make it as long as possible. As mentioned above, 12 characters is a minimum – ideally try to aim for 15 characters or above.
4. Combining two words can be a good idea – but (as per dictionary attacks above) make sure that they are two words that are not commonly found together.
5. Numbers and special characters. Make sure you use them, and ideally you will want to ensure that they are distributed throughout the password – not just at the end.

Having read through, are you ready to take the next steps to make sure your business and your data are secure?

At Webbytech we work with businesses across Essex and London to put in place secure systems that put business owners’ minds at ease. Learn more about how we can help you secure your business here.