6TH OCT 2023
Nobody likes passwords. Especially the challenge of remembering which password goes with which account. But if you use password managers? The benefits far outweigh the initial learning curve.
A cursory glance at the weakest passwords of 2023 confirms our suspicions about bad password habits. Most of us are averse to recalling passwords. This is alarming when you look at the rising spate of identity theft and online scams.
The weakest passwords include:
People really hate passwords and there are plenty of reasons why it is so:
The average person can’t recall complex passwords. Password manager maker LastPass reveals that 6/10 people reuse the same passwords for this reason.
Password fatigue is real. About 39% of Americans struggled to remember passwords in 2022.
Weak credentials are easy for hackers to steal. Stolen passwords resulted in 40% of data breaches in 2022.
Even with all this data out there, a lot of messaging about creating strong passwords is complicated.
Case in point, as per NIST and ISO standards, you must have:
We aren’t going to lie to you. The average person feels this is incredibly hard and ain’t nobody got time for that.
But guess what? Even seasoned cybersecurity folks feel the same way about passwords. These experts recommend using a password manager to simplify your life.
Why?
These utilities generate the strongest passwords for you. No typing or thinking required.
They're easy to set up and use.
Web-based password vaults work wherever you are (Windows, MacOS, Android, iOS), thanks to cross-platform support.
They can be paired with multifactor authentication services for a phishing-resistant experience.
We talked about several types of password managers before. But for best results, we will be using web-based password managers since our goal is to make password management easy and convenient for everyone.
There are some things to consider when you are setting up your password manager:
Despite the media frenzy surrounding attacks faced by password manager service providers, there is absolutely no cause for concern.
The use of a zero-knowledge approach and military-grade encryption by top password managers ensures that any information you store in a password manager is encrypted and takes a lifetime to break.
In simple terms, not even they can see what data you sent, and nor can the hackers attacking these service providers.
The jury is out. Use a password manager to make your digital lifestyle better.
Note: This blog is part of Pureversity's Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2023 coverage, aiming to empower you, your home, and your workplace with an improved cybersecurity posture.
