leadership dot #1990: screen door

Without any computer expertise, I’ll bet you could hack into about half of the computers out there. Why? Because people use obvious and easily-guessable passwords.

Keeper online security service reviewed 10 million passwords and found that 17% of them were “123456”! The top 25 passwords accounted for over half of all passwords they analyzed.

Having a weak password is like having a screen door as the main entranceway to your house. You don’t expect someone to break in, but you make it incredibly easy for someone to do so.

Take a few minutes today to put a deadbolt on your electronic door. Use a long string of letters and characters that have meaning for you, but are not found in a dictionary. Or use a password program. Or develop a pattern that you use depending on the site (e.g. your custom string of letters + the second/third/fourth letter of the site for which you are creating the password).

You wouldn’t leave your house door unlocked; don’t do the same for your electronic home either.



Source: Get Serious About Cybersecurity: Three Simple Tips to Safeguard Your Account, American Funds Investor News, September 30, 2017.