We all use passwords. Probably even several times a day by now. Every Internet account is protected with a password. All access to data within a company should be protected with a password. And a good one at that. This article explains what a strong password is and what can happen if weak passwords are used.
What are weak and strong passwords?
Do you know the movie “Spaceballs”? In the movie, the eponymous Spaceballs want to suck the air from the planet Druidia and transport it to their own planet because the Spaceballs have used up the air on their planet. To get to the air on the planet Druidia, the Spaceballs need the password for the protective shield that protects the planet. After some back and forth, you get the password. It is: “12345”. Not the most secure combination. Spaceballs President Skroob also realizes this and therefore has the combination on his suitcase changed, which is also “12345”. In this scene, the movie deliberately pokes fun at the carelessness of passwords. And this is a movie from 1987, over 30 years later and we still have passwords like “12345”. Weak passwords like this or even supposedly funny passwords like “Password” are a significant security risk. This is because they are easy to find out. There are endless sequences of numbers and letters when they are combined with each other. But the simple ones are also easy to crack. Attackers can use automated systems to quickly determine simple sequences of numbers and words that actually exist as passwords. Strong passwords are therefore primarily sequences of numbers and letters that are not directly related. They should also be longer than 16 characters. The longer, the better. A random sequence is more difficult to recognize. Take this password, for example: “SpsavaZ-uBdkdZe.Asela16Zs.” Do you recognize how this password came about? Good, then it is a strong password. Incidentally, it is the first letters of each word in the first two sentences of this paragraph.
Weak passwords and the consequences
The use of weak passwords can have serious consequences. Both in the private sphere and in the company. With private files in particular, it is easy to think that nobody is interested in your data anyway and that you will therefore not be hacked. However, this is far from the reality. Hackers don’t initially care who they hack. Data is always good for something. It is not for nothing that data protection is currently a very important issue. For example, private accounts can be used to make online purchases. Or the corresponding accounts are simply deleted. This is problematic with social media accounts, for example, as you have built up a list of friends there. Well, it’s gone and won’t be back any time soon. Or even worse: your email inboxes are deleted or used to create accounts on other sites that you don’t want to be on. It can take a lot of effort to undo all this. A hacked system in the company is of course a hacker’s dream. It contains the personal data of all employees and customers. A hack therefore has direct access to several pieces of data. There is also internal data on processes, strategies and work from past orders. A lot of damage can be done here. This ranges from corporate espionage to the deletion of important data. If all customer data has suddenly disappeared, it will be expensive and difficult times lie ahead. It is even possible that blackmail could be used to get the data back. Better to use a strong password then, right?
Conclusion
Weak passwords are still one of the biggest security gaps. Strong passwords can directly prevent numerous attacks. The consequences of a successful hack can be serious. This applies both privately and in the company. Data protection with strong passwords should be taken seriously.
