Better Passwords Translates To Better Security

Researchers from England’s Cambridge University discovered a very inadequate amount of standards in the entire IT industry that places the user’s online security in jeopardy. Frail utilization of password authentication security on the lower level security web sites harms the defenses of higher level security web sites. Users keep the same password for both levels of access.

The researchers discovered hackers and other malicious intrusions have the ability to use the sites we visit on a regular basis, such as news sites, to decipher passwords used at the site, by linking the password to email addresses. The hacker then uses the same passwords to gain entry into the higher level security sites, including banking and financial sites, and e-commerce locations.

The researchers used one hundred and fifty sites in their findings, and discovered “questionable design choices, inconsistencies, and indisputable mistakes.” This is where sites and locations should have on staff a professional who has had CISSP online training as an information security expert, and preferably certification. This training can be obtained at K Alliance.

The research dictates the majority of users have a high number of accounts online, and keeping track of passwords at the sites can be overwhelming, therefore making them easy to guess. The researchers also found almost eighty percent of the researched sites did not give its users information on how to select a stronger password for entry. An entire five sites provided users with password hints, promoting users to employ much stronger passwords than normal. Seven web sites insisted the use of combining alpha and numeric character entry. Two web sites allowed other characters not alpha or numeric.

Another critical weak area encompassing all sites was the process of presenting passwords to the network server upon user log-in. Three sites disallowed a password that can be read as it is being entered, the others let anyone see the password as it was being given to the site. The majority of the web sites let the user have a limitless amount of password entries should the wrong password be utilized. This reveals hackers can use a script that estimates and guesses a password can be used until the right one is entered.

CISSP training instills security confidence. A certified information security professional oversees all areas that can be compromised, and shores up an infrastructure defense against intrusion. The research itself reveals the procedures and practices of security is being passed over for ease and simplicity. It may not seem like much, but it only takes a small weak link to bring down the entire enterprise. Once it has been discovered, the entire structure comes crashing down. To further argument the case for much better security, the researchers discovered twenty nine percent of the web sites allowed the emailing of clear, unobstructed passwords. Eighty three percent permitted free and clear inquiries of membership of its users. Eighty four percent permitted un-exclusive guessing of passwords. In all fairness, web site locations that kept financial and payment information did have stronger procedures of security in place than other sites, such as news sites. One has to ask why sites that have weak security require passwords? The general consensus is they are gathering your personal information and email addresses.

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