Friday, August 12, 2011

5 Ways Strong Passwords Still Fail to Prevent Unauthorized Access

Although online safety through the use of strong passwords sounds like a viable safety measure for most sites and logins, strong passwords are still susceptible to hackers, malware, and phishing attacks. As more and more data breaches are reported, such as the recent incident of VeriSign being hacked, online users are constantly urged to change their login credentials. Many users and some so called internet security experts still rely on strong passwords to protect the online privacy and security of their information. As secure as they seem now, passwords continue to fail to protect against unauthorized access every day as more users rely on it.

Strong passwords can consist of a combination of letters, numbers and symbols. The higher number of characters in a password, the stronger the password is considered to be. These passwords are secure forms of protecting data, however internet technology is changing rapidly and security needs to also change and be more secure. Security such as out-of-band authentication can be used to add an additional layer of security to protect users and information stored online.

There are five things to consider when utilizing a strong password instead of a more secure solution such as out-of-band authentication.