Working in the law, we get a lot of access to articles and research about important topic, that might not be widely produced. This specific article about passwords seems very important in this day of cyber security and social media. So here is a quick summary of the information that we read from NAELA.
Criminals have gotten smart and technology has gotten smarter. Having one password with different variations can be very risky. Criminals have learned that many people use the same password for everything, so when there is a data breach from a retail store, they use that password at your bank. The article discusses ways to try and stop this from happening.
The two-factor or multiple-factor authentication helps by sending a code to either your phone number or your email. You enter in the code to confirm that you are the one logging in and not some hacker. Unfortunately, the smarter the criminal, the less efficient this method is. Some of their scams include pretending to be a website that prompts you to login, and then they steal your information. This is called phishing. Another scam used is when the scammer pretends to be you and calls a customer support line. This has been popular with cell phone companies.
A more secure way to protect yourself is with the Hardware Security Key. This is essentially an actual key that holds your information. To bypass passwords and other authentication factors, all you have to do is hold the key up to your device. There are a few on the market already that are fairly cheap, such as $45.
Cyber crime has risen in the last few years and the scammers are starting to target small businesses and law firms. These businesses need to look into cyber liability insurance. They can do this by talking to their insurance agent. The article also suggests that these businesses should train their employees on how to spot scams.
Many companies, including Microsoft, are trying to do away with the need for passwords. There are password managing services that help protect these passwords for now. The author of this article says that he uses a security key from a company called Yubikey. He says that they, like Microsoft, are looking for alternatives to passwords and multi-factor authentication. It seems like passwords might become a thing of the past. The death of the password has been long predicted, with experts citing their insecurity and inconvenience as the main reasons why they will eventually become obsolete. However, recent trends suggest that the demise of the password may be closer than we think.
Source: NAELA News + Journal
