Bill Gates announced in 2004 that the password was officially dead. Even today, his announcement can still be described as premature. Although new technologies exist, the password remains one of the primary elements of digital security.
Passwords protect everything from your email account to your online shopping. They provide access to your personal and business devices as well as your social media world. Very often, passwords hold the key to your digital identity.
With more and more services moving online, the average number of accounts per internet user is expected to reach 207 in 2020. Most people find it impossible to remember 207 different login and password combinations to access their accounts, therefore, most users simply create easy to remember passwords and use them across multiple online services. Unfortunately, the easier the password is to remember, the easier it is to crack. The digital world protected by passwords contains huge amounts of valuable information and so attacks on passwords by malicious parties are prevalent. Some of the most commonly used online services have already been hacked: Target and its 40 million customers (credit and debit cards), Facebook in 2015 and Gmail earlier this year.
Understanding a hacker’s tools and strategies is the first step to effectively protecting your digital life with a strong(er) password. Here are the top five most common password hacks:
As data security is a crucial element, the next question is data responsibility. Who is responsible for the data? According to a Thales/Ponemon report, 44% of cloud users think the cloud provider is responsible for protecting confidential data in the cloud while 30% believe it is the cloud consumer’s responsibility. There are also differences among countries as to who is responsible. Nearly 70% of French companies are more likely to hold the cloud provider responsible for data protection activities as compared to Japan where 48 % of companies hold the cloud consumer primarily responsible for data protection.
One potential solution for companies who would like to increase cloud adoption but are inhibited by security concerns is to adopt a third-party security service model, one where the security vendor provides the security around the information in a complementary way to what the cloud provider offers. This model, allows the customers to control security and access to protect their data in the cloud. By separating the security from the cloud infrastructure organisations could eliminate any conflicts of interest between storage and control of information while retaining full responsibility of the data for themselves. Moreover, in doing so the logical control of a company’s information can be managed more effectively to meet the ever-increasing regulatory requirements, such as around data sovereignty.
APrivacy can act as a third-party security service with its data-centric security technology. Each piece of information is encrypted, at the data level, in a way that only the owner has access to the encryption keys. No one, including APrivacy itself, has access to these data. This process ensures that the files, whether in transmission or storage, are always secured, therefore enabling companies to leverage the cloud while still being the only ones in control of their own information.
Digital Security Perfected – APrivacy Ltd. is an award-winning company which combines military-grade data security with a seamless user experience on any platform, any device, anywhere. APrivacy Ltd.’s enabling technology now allows the financial services industry to confidently communicate with clients using their favourite channels leading to increased revenues and reduced costs while meeting the strictest regulatory requirements.
