When is World Password Day?
The first Thursday in May is World Password Day.
What is World Password Day?
Keep it secret. Keep it safe. Here in the 21st century, our lives are entangled with online accounts and their passwords. Unauthorized access is often financially devastating. World Password Day encourages us all to strengthen and protect our passwords.
Dramatic accounts of massive cyber-attacks make regular headlines. Big hacks are becoming more lucrative as people increasingly manage their finances online and link retail accounts with social media and their banks. Cybersecurity teams often don’t discover vulnerabilities for months, giving hackers time to do serious damage. People doing everything right can still be victims of identity theft
We’re not helpless though. Healthy online habits can reduce the threats to our private information. Most of us have password habits that desperately need a makeover, and World Password Day is the day to do it.
Facts about World Password Day!
The most expensive cyber-attack, MyDoom, cost $38.5 billion dollars.
Hackers like to target people’s social media habits. One hacker tool, Like-jacking, creates “like” buttons that download malware instead of “liking” the page.
It takes an average of about 170 days to detect a cyber-attack.
The March 2018 Facebook hack only exposed 87 million people’s private information. In January of 2018, journalists discovered backdoor access to Aadhaar, a program similar in scope to the U.S. social security system but for all of India’s 1.1 billion people.
How to celebrate World Password Day:
Research the best password habits, like never using your own name, first or last. Then update all of your accounts with formidable passwords.
Activate two-factor authentication wherever it’s an option.
Find out what a phishing attack looks like and how to avoid them.
Unlink accounts. Linking accounts is convenient for users and hackers alike. It’s possible to keep yourself more secure by not saving credit cards on retail sites or connecting those sites to social media.
What’s the hashtag for World Password Day?
Post a password tip on social media with #WorldPasswordDay.