Locking out hackers with the perfect password

How to create a strong password

Each year millions of data breaches occur in the UK due to weak passwords, so how can you ensure you keep your school safe?

Studies show that around 75% of people use passwords that are too simple or have been compromised in previous data breaches, with many using the same password across multiple platforms.

As hackers evolve ever more intricate ways to unlock accounts finding that perfectly protected password is becoming more and more complex, but there are still simple steps you can take to make sure you don’t fall foul of an email hack.

Don’t use obvious words

When it comes to passwords, the more unusual, the better. Although many people opt for something easy to remember, this can be a costly error as it makes your password so much easier to hack. Data from the National Cyber Security Centre shows that 23.2 million victims’ accounts worldwide used 123456 as their password.

Think about using a mixture of letters, symbols and numbers that don’t follow a pattern or create a specific word.

Follow password complexity rules

According to Microsoft, complex passwords should consist of at least seven characters, including three of the following four character types: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numeric digits, and non-alphanumeric characters such as & $ * and !.

By creating a complex password, it makes the content so much more random and harder to crack. Don’t just replace common numbers such as 0 with O or use a 5 to replace S. The symbols may look like the letter making it easier to remember, but they are also easier to hack and are commonly used techniques to crack password-protected accounts.

Use your own encryption

Think of a password you will remember, such as your pet’s name and date of birth or the child’s middle name and house number. Then carefully change some of the letters and numbers into symbols that have no resemblance to the actual letter or number. By creating your own code for certain letters and numbers using random symbols, it becomes tough to guess but easy for you to remember.

For example, if you chose the password Jasper1978 after your dog’s name and birth date. You could swap the S for a *, the r for ! and the 7 for &. Suddenly the password becomes Ja*pe!19&8 and a lot less predictable yet still easier to remember.

Very few passwords are 100% hackproof. It is all about making it as difficult as possible. Following these steps will help to create a suitably strong and complex password. However, if you do fall foul of an attack, the first thing to remember is not to panic. Breathe.

What to do if your password does fail and you get hacked?

Change all your passwords immediately on everything, this prevents the password from being used.

Then check your settings to see when your accounts were last logged into. Has anything changed? If nothing has changed, it looks like you have caught the breach in time. Continue monitoring your account for the next 24-48 hours and then the next seven days.

Monitor the amount of spam you receive to see if it increases. If there is a significant increase, this indicates there has been a breach.

If the worst has happened, you could look to strengthen your spam filtering if you use Microsoft 365 to allow spam email to be deleted from the server before it reaches the mailbox.  This will provide a level of protection against spam emails or alternatively, you can create a new email account. Sending emails and continuing to use the hacked account without making changes will leave you vulnerable.

If you believe your computer could have been breached and you need some advice, Halchax can help. Or, if your school is not using Microsoft 365 and you would like a free upgrade we can help.

Halchax offers a FREE Health Check Service for schools across the country. Our IT experts will come into your school and look at what you have in place currently to see how we can increase your security and make it safer for your school. We will work with you to get the best result within your budget.

We can also offer advice about what you can do to keep your schools safe from cyber-attacks or incidents. We explain some of the primary cyber security risks schools face and How they could be targeted. We also offer ongoing support either online or in person in times of uncertainty.

To book your FREE School Security Health Check get in touch today: 0330 102 7464 or info@halchax.co.uk

Sources used for data

https://betanews.com/2019/12/04/uk-business-weak-passwords/
https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/news/most-hacked-passwords-revealed-as-uk-cyber-survey-exposes-gaps-in-online-security