The end of the year is a busy time for online shopping, travel bookings, and digital transactions, which also makes it prime season for hackers. Did you know that 80% of breached accounts are linked to weak or stolen passwords? University Federal Credit Union (UFCU) and ACC’s Student Money Management Office offer tips to protect your accounts.
A Message from University Federal Credit Union
They are the alerts no one wants to receive, those notifications telling you that your account has been compromised. Did you know that a whopping 80 percent of those breached accounts are the result of password hacking?
How Secure Are Your Accounts?
Think of your financial accounts as the castle into which cyber criminals are just lurking about to break into. Sadly, there are many of those criminals. In the past five years alone, the FBI has received an astounding 2.2 million hacking complaints.
The best way to keep criminals out of your financial castle is to create an impenetrable wall around it. A strong password is your first line of defense. So, what makes a password strong?
Opt for Unique and Unpredictable
An industry study(opens in a new window) of more than 18 million passwords found the most common passwords are anything but unique or unpredictable. Among them: 123456, abc123, and even the word “password.” Eight of the ten most common uses solely use numbers. Not only are these predictable, but they are short. Studies have shown that shorter passwords (fewer than ten characters) can be hacked in less than an hour!
You can reduce your vulnerability to hacking by amping up your passwords’ strength and length. Longer passwords(opens in a new window), those 12 digits or more, are 62 trillion times stronger than six-character options. Go for a combination of numbers, symbols, and upper- and lower-case letters.
Safeguard Your Passwords
Pay attention to your surroundings, and be aware of other people near you when using a computer to access your accounts. If you notice someone watching you, log out and close your browser.
Remember that wi-fi networks in public places are not always secure. Avoid browsing sites that require password login while on unsecured wi-fi networks.
And, never share your passwords with others or keep password lists where they can be easily discovered in your office, on your phone, or on your computer. Instead, opt for one of the many password manager platforms for safe storage and easy access.
Double the Protection
Whenever possible, take advantage of two-factor or multi-factor authentication. Two-step authentication is a security layer requiring you to verify your identity in at least two ways. Some sites even require multi-layer authentication, with even more security verification to protect against identity theft.
When logging in to a site with two-step authentication, you will be asked to verify your identity by both knowing something and having something. First, you will need to know your username and password, the traditional single-factor authentication. The second step requires that you verify your identity with a mobile phone, or other device that can receive a one-time access code.
Typically, once you set up two-factor authentication and use it on a site, you won’t have to do the second step again. However, some sites require you to do so after a set period of time – for instance, if you haven’t logged in for 30 days. Some enable you to set the time period yourself.
While two-factor authentication does add a bit more work to logging in to a site, the extra protection is worth it if it prevents a hacker’s access. UFCU takes fraud protection seriously and offers two-step authentication on all accounts. We encourage Members to take advantage of our two-step authentication feature as one additional way to protect themselves from fraud and identity theft.
Change It Up
Protecting your passwords is an ongoing job. Don’t make it easy for criminals to access your accounts. That begins with swapping out passwords often. Yes, it takes work. Three-fourths of people find the process of managing passwords(opens in a new window) an annoyance. But if it keeps a hacker out of your accounts, the work is worth the effort.
And, while 99 percent of us know that repeating the same password on multiple accounts is not wise, according to a recent study(opens in a new window), two-thirds of us still do it. Keep in mind that one in four people say they have been hacked because they used a duplicate password.
Avoid the temptation; create different combinations for each of your online accounts to help ensure that even if one account is compromised, the others can remain secure.
Want to learn more?
Connect with ACC’s Student Money Management team to access tools designed to support you or to find a schedule of events and workshops that can help you with your personal finance questions.
Check out www.ufcu.org/ACC or visit your local branch anytime to chat with a Personal Financial Representative. UFCU Highland Branch is now open. Eastview Branch coming soon!