Following the aftermath of Februarys Oldsmar attack, when a hacker modified the chemical levels of the drinking water in a Florida city, the FBI has issued a warning to bring attention to three security problems: using out-of-date Windows 7 software, the TeamViewer desktop sharing software, and poor passwords. The hackers attempted to increase the amount of sodium hydroxide, making the water more alkali and harmful.
The hacker, clearly aimed at causing harm to people, sought to raise the sodium hydroxide content from 100 parts per million (ppm) to 11,100 ppm, as the BBC reported.
In relation to the incident, according to ZDnet, several security experts have criticized companies and workers who frequently use this software for remote work, calling it insecure and inadequate for managing sensitive resources.
Despite data breaches continuously occurring as a result of these same problems, many users have yet to make these necessary changes. In January 2021, a year after support for Windows 7 software ended, over 200 million machines were still using the outdated OS.
The consequences are, Mike Puglia, Chief Strategy Officer of Kaseya tells Digital Journal, to make devices running this variant of Windows more vulnerable to dangerous security risks and long-term performance issues. The TeamViewer software was also criticized as an insecure resource for managing sensitive information.
Furthermore, in 2020 alone, more than 81 percent of data breaches were due to poor password security, signalling the need for immediate password security resets. An ID Agent data report, “List of the 20 Most Common Passwords of 2020“, indicated the most common passwords used, as well as types of passwords to avoid. Going forward, users need to take more serious proactive measures in order to avoid detrimental security breaches.
According to Puglia, the most important thing anyone can do is to increase security in relation to their Windows 7 system is to avoid passwords on this List of the 20 Most Common Passwords of 2020.
