February 2015: Decline of Poor Passwords

A password management maker known as SplashData recently reported that the use of poor passwords has been declining. They gathered data from lists of stolen credentials that had been posted online by hackers and found that passwords such as "password" and "1234..." have decreased to 2.2% of passwords used. It is possible that one of the many reasons for this decrease is that people have become more cyber security aware in light of the several cyber attacks that have hit big name companies, including Anthem, Sony, Chase, and more.

However, 2.2% still represents a large number of users. Many places offer identity theft protection, which will monitor your banks and credit for anything unusual, but this is only identity theft detection and correction. Security professionals also work hard to prevent cyber attacks, but even the best of plans are not perfect and cannot stop all attacks. One of the best ways to prevent identity theft is to start with a strong password and security questions.

Learn more about strong passwords, strong security questions, and other best practices.

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