Passwords - Common Attacks And Possible Solutions :: Computer Security

OverviewMaking sure authorized users have access to either sensitive bon ton information or their psycheal e-mail can be a daunting task, given the feature that an average user has to remember at to the lowest degree 4/5 passwords, a couple of which have to be changed on a monthly basis. The majority of users atomic number 18 frustrated when choosing or remembering a password, and are highly unaware of the consequences of their actions while handling accounting data.This article will provide you with an overview of how important, yet fragile, passwords security really is you will be introduce with different techniques for creating and maintaining passwords, and possible alternative methods for authentication, namely Passphrases, Biometrics and Public Key Infrastructure(PKI).Dangers posed by passwordsWhile the majority of organizations and almost 99% of the home users lock rely heavily on passwords as a basic form of authentication to sensitive and personal resources, the insecu re maintenance, creation, and network transfer could open the antecedent door of any organization or personal asset to a malicious attacker.Management staff with outdated mode of thinking still rely that passwords are the most essential, user-friendly way to identify a user on their network or database, while the fact is that users are frustrated with the fact that they need to change their password, that they need to create a secure password, or follow instructions on how to keep it as secret as possible. The results are a large number of crackable passwords, the same passwords on multiple systems, and post it notes with passwords even including login names.On any given system, certain users have privileges that the others dont and shouldnt even have. By identifying yourself on your computer or any given web site, you are granted with access to your work environment and personal data, data which you define as sensitive and data you wouldnt want to make public, the way a company d oesnt want to give a competitor an access to its intranet, for instance. Abusive scenarios posed by exposing accounting data are Identity theft- Identity theft might occur once your accounting data is somehow known to another person using it to impersonate you in order to get hold of you digital identity. This might result in both financial damages, as well as personal ones.Sensitive data exposure- The content of your e-mail correspondence, personal projects, documents and photos, could be exposed to a malicious hacker or someone targeting especially you as an individual.Company data exposure- Unethical intelligence by getting sensitive confidential internal information through a badly maintained and unploughed accounting data would have an enormous impact on the company youre working for.