![]() ![]() They’ve also become very good at fooling victims by calling them posing as an organization that claims to have detected a break in that wants to verify that the victim is the actual owner of the account. The popularity of using 2-factor authentication with smartphones has led to various exploits to usurp this extra layer of protection including SIM swapping or SIM hijacking ( ).īy taking over control of your phone number, hackers can have the special code sent to a phone that they have in their possession. This means that a cyber-thief needs to steal both your password and your smartphone in order to gain access. It’s akin to the 2-factors necessary when using your debit card at an ATM you need the physical card AND the associated PIN.Īctivating 2-factor authentication on all your online accounts means that whenever an online service detects that your username and password are used from a location or device that’s never been seen before, a special code is sent to the registered phone number that is required to access the account (the 2nd form of authentication). Since a password alone provides very little security these days, the addition of a second form of authentication became popular years ago as smartphones became ubiquitous. The black market for ‘known passwords’ is thriving because hackers know that people tend to use the same passwords across so many of their online accounts. Weak passwords are no match for today’s hacking technology as high-speed cracking systems can crack any 8-character password in just over 1 minute ( ).Įven if you create a long complex password, they can be compromised through data breaches at any of the companies you do business with online. Your online assets have long been one of the major targets of hackers and generally speaking, the only thing keeping them out of your accounts is your passwords. ![]() Much of the information contained herein may have changed since posting. This question was answered on December 6, 2018. How do USB security keys work and should I get one? Answer ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |