The Importance of Passwords

In today’s digital age, protecting your online accounts is more important than ever, yet many people still underestimate the importance of strong passwords, often reusing the same ones across multiple websites or creating easily guessable combinations 

Passwords are vitally important in securing personal data and every step must be taken to ensure all available advice and guidance to keep safe and secure online is followed. 

Three Random Words 

The UK’s leading authority in cyber security advice, the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), suggests the use of three random words to create a password that is both strong and easy to remember. The more unusual your password is, the more difficult it is for the criminal to crack. 

In addition to using three random words, incorporating numbers and symbols can significantly increase password strength and make it harder for hackers to crack. For example: “TurtleTeapotBanana57!”.

What to Avoid 

When creating a password, steer clear of these common mistakes:

• Obvious choices: Always avoid commonly used passwords that criminals can easily guess, such as ‘password’, ‘123456’ or ‘qwerty’ etc.

• Personal information: Don’t use easily discoverable information such as the names of family members, favourite sports team, pet names and birthdays. In fact, avoid using any details that can easily be found through social media or from searching for personal data online. 

• Simple substitutions: It’s important to remember that some criminals are highly skilled, so just changing the letter ‘O’ to a zero (‘0’) or the letter ‘S’ to a dollar sign (‘$’) isn’t enough and can still be cracked quite easily. 

• Social media quizzes: Do not complete any social media ‘questionnaires’ or online quizzes which ask personal questions like ‘What was your first car?’ or ‘What is your favourite holiday destination?’.  All of this is asked for one purpose, to steal your information. 

Password Managers 

Password managers are useful tools that help you maintain strong and unique passwords for every account. They securely store your passwords and can even generate random, complex ones for you. Popular password managers are available as apps for your computer or mobile device, or built into browsers like Google Chrome.

A password manager removes the need to remember multiple passwords while ensuring each one is strong. The only password that needs to be remembered is the master password for the manager itself.

Two-Factor Authentication (2FA) 

2FA adds an extra layer of security to your online accounts by requiring a second form of verification, in addition to your password. By using a password manager to generate random passwords and implementing 2FA, users can ensure that their online accounts and personal data are as secure as possible.

This added layer of protection, ensures that even if a cybercriminal knows your master password, they won’t be able to access your account.

Remember to share your password security knowledge with family and friends. Encourage them to adopt these practices to ensure their online accounts are also secure.

Additional Resources

NCSC guidance for three random words: Three random words

NCSC guidance on password managers: Password managers: using browsers and apps to safely store

NCSC guidance on two factor authentication: Turn on 2-step verification (2SV)