Cybersecurity | The best tips to create an unbreakable password and protect your personal data online

In Peru, in 2023, 5 billion attempted cyber attacks will be reported, according to information from Fortinet, a cybersecurity company. And cybercriminals use various techniques to compromise credentials of the users.

Ways to steal keys

Among the most common are phishing, brute force attacks and keyloggers, according to Check Point.

• He phishing is a common tactic where criminals impersonate trusted entities to obtain passwords.
• Los brute force attacks They involve bad actors trying to crack passwords by trying all possible combinations.
• Los keyloggers are programs that record users’ keystrokes to capture passwords as they are entered on a device.

In addition to cyber threats, password weakness represents a significant challenge to online security. A study by the UK’s National Cyber ​​Security Center revealed that 23.2 million users worldwide use the password “123456″, one of the most common and easily decipherablewhich poses a considerable security risk.

Now, considering this reality, it is crucial to understand how to keep our online accounts and data secure, since security breaches are closely related to weak passwords.

MIRA: In 2024 you should not use your pet’s name, ‘123456’ or ‘abc123’ as a password

Tips for creating strong passwords

Arturo Torres, cybersecurity expert at Fortinet, shares four tips to keep our accounts and digital assets safe:

1. Create passwords that are impossible to forget, but difficult for others to guess: uses combinations of letters, numbers and special characters, avoiding common words and predictable patterns. For example, instead of using “password123,” you could use “P@ssw0rd!987.”
2. Avoid using specific names, numbers or phrases: It is essential to avoid using names, birthdays, phone numbers or any personal data in passwords, as these can be easily guessed by cybercriminals. Don’t put dates like “01011990″, or your pet’s name, like “Luna123″.
3. Use different passwords for each account: Use different passwords for each account as it helps limit the damage if a password is compromised. This reduces the risk of cyber attackers accessing multiple accounts.
4. Use a password manager: use an app that helps you generate and remember strong passwords for each account.

From the Google blog they offer some suggestions to increase the security of passwords, such as two-step verification. This security measure requires an additional step, such as a code sent to your phone or generated by an authenticator app, in addition to the usual password. This helps prevent unauthorized people from logging into your accounts, even if they know your password.

The unofficial history of passwords

Now that we have learned how to create secure keys to protect our accounts, let’s review the origins and evolution of those.

According to Microsoft, the first record of password use in Western culture dates back to ancient Greece, around 264 to 146 BC. C. At that time, Roman soldiers used “slogans,” which were like passwords written on wooden tablets. These slogans helped them identify their allies and enemies during battles.

Later, in World War II, during the invasion of Normandy, American soldiers used special passwords to recognize each other. For example, they would say words like “flash” and the other soldier had to respond with “thunder.” They also changed these words to be safer. This was a way to protect themselves from enemies.

MIRA: WhatsApp could disappear in India if it is forced to withdraw its end-to-end encryption

Then came the age of computers. In the 1960s, at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), a computer expert named Fernando Corbató developed a system that allowed several people to use a computer at the same time. To protect each user’s files, passwords began to be used. This was a big step that influenced online security as we know it today.

And as time and technology advance, so do the authentication methods that are already part of our daily lives, such as fingerprint, facial and multi-factor recognition, which combines biometric data and passwords.

As a curiosity, Passwords have also been protagonists in some Hollywood movies, as in 1983’s “War Games,” where a high school hacker named Matthew Broderick manages to break into a government war game using the password “Joshua.” Although the creator of the program believed it to be the most secure password, it turned out not to be.