Account holders are urged to update their weak passwords to something stronger as it was revealed that brute force hackers can guess the majority of popular passwords in less than one second. Up to 70% were labelled as vulnerable, with consecutive numbers 12345 named as the most popular. Users should turn towards a decentralised password manager instead to protect themselves from these brute force methods.
In the wake of World Password Day, professionals are being advised to enforce password policies across all workspaces. Lax attitudes towards password security are making things easier for hackers, who are using more sophisticated technology than ever to guess users’ personal details. Stephen Bowers, Global Practice Director at BSI, suggests using a password manager rather than changing every 30 days.
Cybersecurity attacks were up by 30 per cent in Q1 of 2020, says a new report. There were 157,000 cyber-attacks says internet service provider Beaming – up from 120,000 in 2019. Experts think there could be a link between the coronavirus crisis and the increase in attacks. Businesses most likely to suffer from attacks included those that relied on IoT applications, as well as company databases and file-sharing systems.
Experts at GlobalData say the need for investment in cybersecurity is stronger than ever, in light of the coronavirus crisis. In particular, data is a key issue. Jonathan Cordwell, Principal Health and Social Care Analyst at GlobalData, says: “ Health Secretary Matt Hancock has been directly involved in relaxing these policies, such as granting Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) powers to obtain information from NHS IT systems and issuing orders to healthcare providers to process confidential patient information relating to the coronavirus.”
Remote working continues to pose a threat as employees across Europe admit to their own bad cybersecurity practices. A survey carried out by OneLogin revealed that 17 per cent of workers share their work device password with their children, while 36 per cent had not changed their WiFi password in over a year. The figures were even worse in the UK, where 50 per cent admitted to this flaw. On the plus side, 70 per cent of UK businesses are using VPNs.
Academics have come together to posit a new ‘Centre of Excellence’ to promote good security practices within the UK transport sector. A study into autonomous vehicles, led by ResiCAV, highlighted key flaws in national road transport. With input from universities, local councils and the National Digital Exploitation Centre, the proposed three-month programme has been supported by government funding including Innovate UK.
