 |
|
ab |
|
|
|
|
Mum's
the Word - Effective Methods to Protect Your Passwords
| |
 |
|
With
the amount of information being stored electronically, it is becoming
increasingly important to secure data in an effective manner. Know the tips
and tricks to maintain your passwords without compromising security
by Paul
Chin
Information Technologist, Competia Online
| |
 |
|
|
It is Monday morning. You have just come back from a three-week vacation
in the Bahamas. The office seems the same as when you left but you can sense
something is brewing in the background. You have not even taken your first
sip of coffee yet and are already an hour behind schedule. Your once trusty
date book, carrying numerous nicks and scratches like battle scars, betrays
you as you glance down at the hieroglyphic squiggles of meetings you do not
even recall making.
All the while you are being hampered by questions from
departmental users as to why their letter-sized printouts are coming out in
legal format. Soon you begin to feel like James Stewart in Vertigo minus the
musical score. After finally quieting the pitchfork and torch-bearing
Frankenstein-like mob gathering around your desk, you try to log onto the
network. You draw a blank. Everyone is looking over your shoulders. The
cursor blinks on and off, its rhythm never broken. It can wait… the mob
cannot. Your hands are frozen to the keyboard. You begin to wade through
everything in your mind when something suddenly dawns on you, "What on
earth's my password again?"
With the amount of information being stored
electronically, it is becoming increasingly important to secure data in an
effective manner and not provide fodder for bored hackers. If you are like
me, you may have more than a dozen passwords to remember. There may be
network passwords, Internet-site passwords, e-mail passwords, combinations
to secured rooms, and the list goes on. How do you maintain all these bits
of information without compromising security?
Here are some tips and tricks
to help you maintain your passwords:
- Never use the same password to
secure multiple accounts.
In other words, you should not use the same
password you use to log onto the network to log onto a secured intranet or
Internet site. Would you really consider using a single key to open your
front door, start your car, and secure your safe deposit box which holds the
only evidence of an unknown alternate ending to Casablanca where Rick
actually ends up with Ilsa?
- Never use words found in a
dictionary. Many
hackers use brute force, dictionary attacks in order to crack your password.
A "dictionary attack" basically makes use of a cracker utility
that takes a list of dictionary words and encrypts them one at a time using
the system's (such as Windows NT) encryption algorithm. If it finds a match,
your password has been cracked!
- Avoid picking passwords from items found
near your office/desk, names of family members, or birthdays. Why? They are
just too easy to guess!
- You should choose passwords that contain at least five characters.
Your passwords should be a combination of any of the following:
- Uppercase characters
- Lowercase characters
- Numeric values
- Special
characters (such as "!", "~", "*")
- You
should "cycle" your passwords every now and again. Many System
Administrators configure user accounts with a "life span" thus
forcing users to change their password after an allotted time. They may also
have a setup whereby your previous passwords are kept in record so that you
do not use the same ones over and over again.
- Never write your passwords
down. If you must write them down, do not write the full password. Instead,
what you can do is write a "reminder." For example, if your
password was "Betel45geuse," you can write down "B*45g*"
where the "*" would represent the missing characters.
- Never
share your password with anyone else. Sometimes hackers may use "social
engineering" techniques to obtain passwords. The hacker may pretend to
be a System Administrator and trick you into revealing your password via
e-mail or over the telephone.
- Find a scheme that works for you. You may
decide to use a password that is easy to remember but in a
"scrambled" format. For example, you can apply a pattern such as
pig Latin (i.e., "rover" becomes "overray"). Another
pattern you can use is to turn a phrase into an acronym (i.e., "All
work and no play" becomes "awanp").
Competia 2002 Awards - Most Insightful Book
Have you written a book that has changed the way others have viewed
strategic planning or competitive intelligence? Nominated yourself for the
Most Insightful Book award. Be recognized by Competia, the premier portal
for competitive intelligence and strategic planning professionals. Obtain an
application by e-mailing Competia at awards2002@competia.com
Copyright © 2004 Competia Inc. All rights reserved.
|
| ab |
|
|
