World Password Day is celebrated on the first Thursday of May. A Kaspersky investigation shows how, more than two years after the arrival of Covid-19, the confidence of netizens regarding the use and security of their passwords has increased.
In Latin America, more than half of Internet users trust that their passwords have not been exposed on the Internet, while one in five admits to having been hacked at least least one of your online accounts.
More use, more vulnerability
If there is something that the pandemic has caused, it is an urgent need for connection, forcing not only digital natives and regular users to increase the number of procedures and actions on the web, but also to those who resisted or claimed ignorance of this new reality.
Connect to find out about family and friends, carry out banking procedures, attend classes and even for a medical appointment ; The health emergency has forced everyone to create, at least, a profile and a password.
However, the majority of usershe lacks good digital habits, especially regarding the creation and protection of these.
“Using the same password in all our accounts can be very convenient, but it is a practice that can have serious consequences, since it puts all our data at risk. The same if, as a reminder, they are saved in the browser, written in an agenda or shared with family members with the aim of recovering them if they are forgotten. Making them using ourdate of birth, our address or the name of our children are also very common mistakes and can cost us dearly”, explains Fabio Assolini, senior security analyst for Amé rich Latina in Kaspersky.
According to the study “The infodemic and its impact on digital life”, by this company in association with CORPA, there is excessive confidence in the use of passwords among Internet users in the region.
Of the Latin American users surveyed, 60% trust that their passwords have not been potentially exposed on the web, being Brazilians (69%), Mexicans (61%) and Peruvians (60%) the most confident, while Argentines (58%), Colombians (56%) and Chileans (54%) follow closely.
Tips to protect your security< /strong>
— Use at least 16 characters and include uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
— Create unique keys. The risk of data leakage is always very high and the security of all accounts is compromised by using only one.
— Change them constantly, every 3 months is recommended.
— Make passwords that have a logic or meaning that allows you to remember them.