Last week I spoke on all the hacking that has been going on. Since that blog, another two big sites were hacked and millions of accounts and their passwords were put in danger. LinkedIn and eHarmony were both hacked and users passwords were posted on forums for the world to see (Rodriguez, 2012). Honestly, the LinkedIn hack was much worse than many people think. What many don't understand is that LinkedIn, like many other social sites, uses your email to connect with you. They also allow you to connect your other sites to your account such as your Twitter. With the LinkedIn hack, the hackers could eventually make their way to your other accounts that you have linked to it. If you use the same email and password for those sites, well, you probably are going to have those accounts hacked as well.
Why does this keep happening? Every where you turn, you hear of some sort of new hacking going on. My question is, can it be stopped? If their sites are properly managed and properly secured, it could help, but what about our individual security? Most of us have some sort of social profile such as Facebook, Google+, LinkedIn, or even MySpace. We then link those sites to other social sites. Are you one of the many that use the same passwords for all your sites? If so, you are in some serious trouble for future hacking.
When it comes to dealing with your own personal security maintenance, one of the best things you could manage is your passwords. As Michael Whitman and Herbert Mattord state in their book, Management of Information Security, technological obsolescence, which is when something technical becomes unreliable or untrustworthy, happens more than you know. One of the many problems is with password cracks. This is when a hacker will try to figure your password out. They will use any means necessary to attack your password data (Whitman & Mattord, 2010). This points to the fact that passwords are a viable security necessity.
My suggestion to you is to manage your passwords! They must be strong or it will allow a hacker easy access to them. A great site that I have always used is Microsoft's Check Your Password site. This site allows you to anonymously enter a password into their system, and as you type it, a box telling you how strong your password is will move from 'week' to 'best' (Microsoft, 2012) (Link provided in reference section below). Of course, you want to see a reading of 'strong' or 'best' for your password. You can get these readings by having a variety in your password such as upper and lower cased letters and numbers. Play around on the site until you get a 'strong' password at the least.
Another suggestion is to change your passwords often. I have read that some places ask you to change them once a week. That is just too many changes for me. Yes, that might make you more secure, but just as you are memorizing your new password, it would be time for a new one. I change mine once a month, unless I hear of some sort of hacking that has happened to a site I am involved with. I then immediately change my password. I would suggest you do the same. Remember, manage your passwords, keep them strong, and change them often, and your own personal security on web sites will be just that much more secure.
References:
Microsoft (2012). Check your password - Is it strong? Retrieved June 11, 2012 from https://www.microsoft.com/security/pc-security/password-checker.aspx
Rodriguez, S. (2012). Like LinkedIn, eHarmony is hacked; 1.5 million passwords stolen. Retrieved June 11, 2012 from http://www.latimes.com/business/technology/la-fi-tn-eharmony-hacked-linkedin-20120606,0,4578300.story.
Whitman, M., & Mattord, H. (2010). Management of Information Security. Boston, MA: Course Technology, Cengage Learning.
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