At least until we are a full password society, but usernames and passwords and an extra authentic factor are the best defense we have against the distribution of digital fraud and identity theft. It is worthwhile to make and keep track of with different passwords for each of our accounts.
“The engaging of strong authentication methods is one thing I even fight with my own family members,” says Octavia Howell, vice-president and Chief Information Security Officer for Credit Bureau Equifax Canada.
Think of usernames, passwords and multi-factor authentication as more lines of defense for your identity online, she recommends. Multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of protection by combining different authentic factors, such as something you know, something you have or something you are. If one of the organizations with which you deal with, suffers a data breach, it can make this extra protective layer possible for your online identity, and prevent it from spreading to the other sites and accounts that you use. They can help to prevent you from becoming the victim of identity theft.
‘It’s not a matter of if, It’s a matter of when Your information is compromised. Most of your information is probably already affected, “says Howell.
Good authentication practices make it more difficult for fraudsters to get more information about you and to adopt your identity for fraud. Here are Howell’s tips and dos and don’ts.
Password practices to avoid
Too many users simply reuse the same username and password for multiple accounts, says Howell. Suppose criminals gain access to your streaming service account. If you use the same password for an E -mail account, it is just as well as affected. That can expose more information about you, your friends and your employees.
Another error is to use passwords that are easy to guess, such as the name of your children plus “123” and an exclamation mark for a special character. Also do not take a name of a pet or a street address. Remember that hackers now get help from artificial intelligence (AI) to try thousands of combinations of these instructions to gain access to your accounts. (More information about AI and identity theft.)
Best Password Practices
Howell recommends using multiple usernames and different passwords for all your online accounts. Here are some tips to improve your password hygiene:
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- Google for yourself to get an idea of which information about you is available directly online – and don’t use it in your passwords.
- Use sentences that are useful for you, but no one else – for example, places, dates or special figures and activities that linger in your mind. Hair the words and numbers in ways that do not repeat important sentences that are found online.
- Consider using strong passwords of the platform, but only if you always have access to the site of the same device or if you use a password -safe, also known as a password manager.
- Use the strongest passwords for the sites that contain the most sensitive information. The portal of an optometrist that only contains your glasses recipe does not have to be that complicated, but your online banking is another matter. “You want to place the correct level of security based on the information on every site,” says Howell.
- If multi-factor authentication is available, take the time to switch this on. This offers the extra protective layer and can even serve as an early warning signal that your login details have been affected.
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This article is sponsored.
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