Today is World Password Day. On this day, we are encouraged to update our passwords to make them stronger and protect our digital privacy.
I am often frustrated by the multitude of times I must use a password on my phone or iPad. It seems everything requires a unique password. I am tempted to use the same password for every account, but if I did, a hacker could gain access to all of my data if he or she guessed my password.
The first password was created in 1961 by MIT computer science professor Fernando Corbato. According to Wikipedia, he created the first digital password as a project problem solver when he built a giant time-sharing computer. Several users needed their own private access to the terminals. His solution was to give each user their own password.
Today there are passwords for almost everything. Each person has about 100 of them, and they’re often shared between family, friends, and coworkers, for example, the password to the Netflix account. Trying to remember all of these details on a daily basis has led to major password fatigue.
The concept of passwords goes back centuries. The Roman army used “watch words” — pass phrases that proved you were a member of the unit. This early authentication system was a fast way to tell if someone was a friend or an enemy.
In the 1920s, prohibition in the United States led to the rise of “speakeasy” bars where alcohol was sold illegally. Presenting a card, code phrase, or saying a password was your ticket to getting inside.
Gone are the days when it was OK to store passwords on a sticky note or in a spreadsheet. Now password managers with autofill and essential security features like two-factor authentication and biometrics can help you safely access all your devices in seconds.
When I updated my phone, I was prompted to use face ID. I took a series of photos of my face, which allowed my phone to skip a typed-in numerical password when I stared into the screen. However, it seems that early in the morning, my puffy face is unrecognizable, even to my phone!
How confident are you in your passwords? Here are some tips to help you make a “strong” password.
1. Your password should include at least three different character types: capital letters, lowercase letters, symbols, and numbers.
2. Avoid real words as they are easier to figure out.
3. Avoid using your name or other personal information as part of your password. Your birthdate is often on social media, which makes it easy for a hacker to find it and use it against you. However, you can use personal data that’s important to you but ones that others won’t know about, such as the date you got your first car or your first date.
4. The nursery rhyme technique is a preferred method with IT security policies. Take the first letter of each word, then capitalize the first letter in the sentence, then replace specific letters with numbers and end with a special character, such as”!” For example, take the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill went up the hill to fetch a pail of water. You would capitalize the “capital J” in Jack, then replace any “a” with 3, then end with an exclamation mark. Your password would be J3jwuthtf3pow! (Don’t use this particular password because now everyone knows it!)
