Top tips for password security: #WorldPasswordDay2022
May 5th marks World Password Day 2022, a day aimed at promoting good password management strategies. It reminds us of the importance of protecting ourselves through using strong passwords and helps people to improve the passwords that they use for their important online accounts. It is also a good day to provide resources to learn more about cybersecurity.
History of World Password Day
Mark Burnet – a security researcher, first encouraged people to have a password day where they update important passwords in his book Perfect Passwords, published in 2005. Intel Security was inspired by his idea, and in 2013, declared the first Thursday of May as World Password Day.
Why is it important?
Managing passwords across many devices can become a chore, particularly if you need to log in to a site that requires you to enter the password manually every time.
A survey by Bitwarden shows that around two-thirds of people still rely on their memory when it comes to passwords – but one in five people have to change their passwords several times a week due to the inability to remember them. Not only that, but a recent survey also showed 15 per cent of people in the UK use their pet’s name as their password.
43 per cent of Britains don’t use a password manager as they believe their memory or computer/phone storing is effective enough. In the same study, only 46 per cent of Brits are familiar with password security best practices.
Our top tips
With this in mind, we have outlined some handy tips for ensuring your first layer of security is strong enough to deter outsiders from gaining your personal data.
Use the resources below to share with colleagues, friends and family across social media to remind them to do a spring clean of their passwords!
- Sign up and use a password manager tool. Some of the best password managers include LastPass, 1Password, and LogMeOnce.
- Change old passwords to be longer and stronger. Use a mixture of Uppercase, and lowercase letters, digits and symbols.
- Enable two-factor authentication (2FA), on your accounts wherever possible.
- Don’t store passwords on your computer or phone. Try not to write down passwords on pieces of paper, use a manager tool as stated above.
- Password protect your wireless router to ensure outsiders cannot gain access to your personal information.
- Log out when you’ve finished with a programme.
