We all have our own set of trusty passwords, whether it be something along the lines of ‘tinkerbell123‘, ‘johnsm1th!’, or even, dare we say ‘Password1‘.
You might think your password which you use for everything, is so good. And that no one could possibly guess what it is.
But you’d be wrong.
Nowadays, there are a number of ways that hackers can access your account and this is not helped by a weak password. It’s also not good practice to use the same password for every account.
Here’s why it’s so important to change your passwords in 2022
Hackers can gain access to your account in a number of ways. By using something called Phishing software, or finding your account details after a security breach on a company that holds your data.
It has always been best practice to regularly change your password. All passwords should include a number of letters, numbers, and symbols so that it’s hard to guess.
But following the recent Russian attack on Ukraine, the UK’s National Cyber Security Centre has released a statement saying that UK businesses (even small ones like us) should act on improving their cyber security.
Whilst the war in Ukraine might be so far away from us, we are still feeling the massive effects of the conflict. Cyber attacks do not respect geographical boundaries, therefore the NCSC has warned UK businesses to put preventative measures in place. This includes taking regular backups of the important information you hold, and also, changing your passwords.
You should also have different passwords for each account you have, which might make it tricky to remember, but there is software that you can use to help manage this.
Using a Password Manager
Using a password manager such as 1Password or Dashlane can help you to manage all of your passwords in one place. They will also help to generate random passwords that are a combination of random letters, symbols and numbers that are more secure against cyber attacks.
These are often secure programs, and definitely worth thinking about if you have a number of accounts on different websites.
Other ways to protect your business
Other ways you can protect your business from cyberattacks is to make sure you have up-to-date anti-virus software, and also to make sure all your staff are aware of the dangers of clicking on links from spam emails.
You can read the full guidance on cyber security for small businesses released by the NCSC here.