Which of the following is the most commonly used and therefore the weakest password?
Password attacks are one of the most common forms of corporate and personal data breach. A password attack is simply when a hacker trys to steal your password. In 2020, 81% of data breaches were due to compromised credentials. Because passwords can only contain so many letters and numbers, passwords are becoming less safe. Hackers know that many passwords are poorly designed, so password attacks will remain a method of attack as long as passwords are being used. Show Protect yourself from password attacks with the information below. 1. PhishingPhishing is when a hacker posing as a trustworthy party sends you a fraudulent email, hoping you will reveal your personal information voluntarily. Sometimes they lead you to fake "reset your password" screens; other times, the links install malicious code on your device. We highlight several examples on the OneLogin blog. Here are a few examples of phishing:
To avoid phishing attacks, follow these steps:
2. Man-in-the-Middle AttackMan-in-the middle (MitM) attacks are when a hacker or compromised system sits in between two uncompromised people or systems and deciphers the information they're passing to each other, including passwords. If Alice and Bob are passing notes in class, but Jeremy has to relay those notes, Jeremy has the opportunity to be the man in the middle. Similarly, in 2017, Equifax removed its apps from the App Store and Google Play store because they were passing sensitive data over insecure channels where hackers could have stolen customer information. To help prevent man-in-the-middle attacks:
3. Brute Force AttackIf a password is equivalent to using a key to open a door, a brute force attack is using a battering ram. A hacker can try 2.18 trillion password/username combinations in 22 seconds, and if your password is simple, your account could be in the crosshairs. To help prevent brute force attacks:
4. Dictionary AttackA type of brute force attack, dictionary attacks rely on our habit of picking "basic" words as our password, the most common of which hackers have collated into "cracking dictionaries." More sophisticated dictionary attacks incorporate words that are personally important to you, like a birthplace, child's name, or pet's name. To help prevent a dictionary attack:
5. Credential StuffingIf you've suffered a hack in the past, you know that your old passwords were likely leaked onto a disreputable website. Credential stuffing takes advantage of accounts that never had their passwords changed after an account break-in. Hackers will try various combinations of former usernames and passwords, hoping the victim never changed them. To help prevent credential stuffing:
6. KeyloggersKeyloggers are a type of malicious software designed to track every keystroke and report it back to a hacker. Typically, a user will download the software believing it to be legitimate, only for it to install a keylogger without notice. To protect yourself from keyloggers:
Preventing Password AttacksThe best way to fix a password attack is to avoid one in the first place. Ask your IT professional about proactively investing in a common security policy that includes:
Which of the following is a weak password?Poor, weak passwords have the following characteristics: The password contains fewer than eight characters. The password is a word found in a dictionary (English or foreign). Names of family, pets, friends, coworkers, fantasy characters, etc.
What is a weak password and strong password?A strong password is what protects you from cyber criminals. Relying on a weak password PasswordCombination of letters and numbers you select to secure an account or device. , by contrast, makes it easy for cyber criminals to gain access to your accounts, steal your identity and even take your money.
What makes a password weak or strong?What Makes a Password Weak/Strong? Generally speaking, the strength of a password is determined by three things: the length of the character set used, the length of the password itself, and to a lesser extent, the variety in characters chosen.
Why are passwords weak?However, what makes a password weak is not just the fact that it is some obvious sequence, but a combination of factors that involve the number and variety of characters, as well as the type of information associated with the secret word.
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