Passwords Matter

UTS Support Posted on October 30, 2018 Posted in Network, Weekly Tip

The Tip

Passwords are our first line of defence in cybersecurity. So why do so many of us have bad password habits? Who knows. It just seems to be human nature. Readily available hacker scripts can guess most bad passwords in seconds, just by shear brute force. A couple of basics can greatly enhance your cybersecurity.

The Detail

Here are some things to consider in choosing and using passwords;

Any simple dictionary word, a pet’s name, any variation of your birthdate, a movie title, etc are all trivial to crack.
Many systems might generate a default password for you based on some combination of your name or birthdate or start date when first creating your account. Reset these default passwords immediately. They are meant to be temporary.
Is your password on this list? Change it immediately.
What makes a good password? It might be a passphrase.
Never use the same password on multiple services. It’s easier than you think to manage good and unique passwords.
Did you know you can manage your own Nipissing password here https://mypassword.nipissingu.ca

Special Bonus Tip

The theme for week 4 of Cybersecurity month is Our critical eye and the internet. According to Media Smarts, Digital Literacy is more than technological know-how; it includes a wide variety of ethical, social and reflective practices that are embedded in work, learning, leisure and daily life.

November Patch Tuesday loads up everyone’s plate November 13, 2024
Fourteen product families affected as 2024 passes an unfortunate milestone
VEEAM exploit seen used again with a new ransomware: “Frag” November 8, 2024
Last month, Sophos X-Ops reported several MDR cases where threat actors exploited a vulnerability in Veeam backup servers. We continue to track the activities of this threat cluster, which recently included deployment of a new ransomware. The vulnerability, CVE-2024-40711, was used as part of a threat activity cluster we named STAC 5881. Attacks leveraged compromised […]
Bengal cat lovers in Australia get psspsspss’d in Google-driven Gootloader campaign November 6, 2024
The Internet is full of cats—and in this case, malware-delivering fake cat websites used for very targeted search engine optimization.
Pacific Rim: Inside the Counter-Offensive—The TTPs Used to Neutralize China-Based Threats October 31, 2024
Sophos X-Ops unveils five-year investigation tracking China-based groups targeting perimeter devices
From the frontlines: Our CISO’s view of Pacific Rim October 31, 2024
On beyond “Detect and Respond” and “Secure by Design”
Pacific Rim: What’s it to you? October 31, 2024
Thirty-five years after the first great cat-and-mouse infosecurity story, here we are again
Pacific Rim: Learning to eat soup with a knife October 31, 2024
What our incident responders know from five years of fighting an octopus
Digital Detritus: The engine of Pacific Rim and a call to the industry for action October 31, 2024
Decades of obsolete and unpatched hardware and software endanger us all
Pacific Rim timeline: Information for defenders from a braid of interlocking attack campaigns October 31, 2024
Sophos X-Ops unveils five-year investigation tracking China-based groups targeting perimeter devices
Sophos Firewall hardening best practices October 25, 2024
Make the most of your Sophos Firewall.

Nipissing University
100 College Drive, Box 5002
North Bay, ON, Canada
P1B 8L7
Tel: 705.474.3450
Fax: 705.474.1947

Phone Directory
NU Mail
Health & Safety
Site Map

MyNipissing
WebAdvisor
Blackboard
Library