Technology company Intel created World Password Day — the first Thursday of May (May 7) — to address the critical need for solid passwords, for both businesses and consumers. The key point is that time’s up on using ‘123456’ as a password online. We all know having a strong password is integral to staying safe online.
Looking at the importance of passwords and security, Centrify CEO Tim Steinkopf tells Digital Journal that COVID-19 era places a new emphasis upon strong passwords: “This World Password Day is unlike any other, as the pandemic and a 100 percent remote workforce makes business anything but usual. But for cyber-attackers, it’s just another day at the office.”
Tackling complacency, Steinkopf says: “In fact, all evidence points to them ramping up their activities to take advantage of uncertain, confusing times, such as a reported 600% increase in phishing attacks since February. Now is the time to be more resilient and vigilant than ever, including taking advantage of biometrics and other stronger factors of authentication that are finally getting us closer to killing the password.”
In terms of advice for businesses, Steinkopf notes: “For privileged accounts, organizations should stop using shared or root passwords stored in a password vault and instead authenticate privileged users and grant them access based on their own identities and their assigned entitlements. Finally, enable machines with trust verification so they can protect themselves from illegitimate users who might seek access to them because they have a legitimate password.”
To summarize, Steinkopf states: “We all know passwords are not a modern form of authentication – the modern threatscape demands we move past them when stronger solutions are available.”
