Choosing an easy password may not be worth the risk of being hacked

Are any of your passwords 123456? If you said yes, you are one of more than 2.5 million people using the country’s most common password.

Whether you use numbers, letters, or a combination thereof, cybersecurity expert Carrie Kerskie, with Kerskie Group, says you need to think unique, not easy to remember.

“We see people having bad password habits and it’s just all out of convenience,” she explained. “We don’t want to have to remember these long-complicated ones, so out of convenience, people are defaulting to things like 1234 or simple ones and the bad guys are taking advantage of this.”

They’re taking advantage because, with your password, they can access bank accounts, credit cards, emails and so much more.

What’s another most used password? The address where you live.

If we all know the danger, why do we go with easy?

Kerskie said, “You know what it is, people can remember it, it’s simple, it’s easy.”

Jeff Morris owns a cybersecurity company and understands the threat and the importance of good security. His advice: “You need to change things pretty quickly because it’s getting worse and worse and it’s coming from every direction in the whole world.”

Kerskie also recommends using a password manager and when making your passwords, “Remember that longer is stronger.”

Computer experts also say you should never store passwords on your laptop or mobile device.

Here is a website where you can check to see if your email has been compromised: Have I Been Pwned?

Make one of your New Year’s resolutions to change your passwords.

RESOURCES

• Oregon FBI Tech Tuesday: Building a Digital Defense with Passwords
• CISA: Security Tip – Choosing and Protecting Passwords
• Top 200 most common passwords of the year 2020