Passwords are a big target for cybercriminals. It is therefore necessary to follow the advice of experts on how to keep our data safe. Víctor Carrión Hontoria from CARTIF, participates in Module 3 C1b3rWall Academy and is delivering a lecture on “The challenge of creating a strong password“.

Víctor Carrión Hontoria has been a computer systems administrator at the CARTIF Technology Center for more than 18 years. The aim of his lecture is to show the current scenario related to the use and management of passwords from the point of view of cybersecurity, revealing the challenges related to the theft of credentials and bad habits that compromise the security of our data.

How can we protect ourselves?

Passwords do not guarantee user authentication, they are not convenient to use, and may easily be lost or forgotten, they can be stolen and are critical in both personal and work environments.

  • Use different passwords for each service.
  • Create complex passwords.
  • Renew them periodically.
  • Enable two-factor authentication whenever possible.

Passwords are stolen because, after all, they have a monetary value. It is possible to make a profit by selling accounts.

More steps towards enhancing security

Google will gradually activate mandatory two-factor authentication on all its accounts, while Microsoft already allows access to its services “without a password” but using the mobile application it offers (Microsoft Authenticator).

In short, there are many steps that can be taken, most importantly, follow the advice of professionals like Victor. If you would like to learn more about it, don’t miss his presentation at C1b3rWall Academy.

The full article is available on News-365.

Posted by Juan M. Corchado

Juan Manuel Corchado (15 May 1971, Salamanca, Spain) is Professor at the University of Salamanca. He has been Vice-Rector for Research from 2013 to 2017 and Director of the Science Park of the University of Salamanca. Elected as Dean of the Faculty of Science twice, he holds a PhD in Computer Science from the University of Salamanca and a PhD in Artificial Intelligence from the University of the West of Scotland. He leads the renowned BISITE (Bioinformatics, Intelligent Systems and Educational Technology) Research Group, created in 2000. Director of the IoT Digital Innovation Hub and President of the AIR Institute, J. M. Corchado is also Visiting Professor at the Osaka Institute of Technology since January 2015, Visiting Professor at the Universiti Malaysia Kelantan and Member of the Advisory Group on Online Terrorist Propaganda of the European Counter Terrorism Centre (EUROPOL). J. M. Corchado has been president of the IEEE Systems, Man and Cybernetics Society, and academic coordinator of the University Institute for Research in Art and Animation Technology at the University of Salamanca, as well as researcher at the Universities of Paisley (UK), Vigo (Spain) and the Plymouth Marine Laboratory (UK). He currently combines all his activity with the direction of Master programmes in Security, Digital Animation, Mobile Telephony, Information Systems Management, Internet of Things, Social Media, 3D Design and Printing, Blockchain, Z System, Industry 4.0, Agile Project Management, and Smart Cities & Intelligent Buildings, at the University of Salamanca and his work as editor-in-chief of the journals ADCAIJ (Advances in Distributed Computing and Artificial Intelligence Journal), OJCST (Oriental Journal of Computer Science and Technology) or Electronics MDPI (Computer Science & Engineering section). J. M. Corchado mainly works on projects related to Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Blockchain, IoT, Fog Computing, Edge Computing, Smart Cities, Smart Grids and Sentiment Analysis. He has recently been included in the board of trustees of the AstraZeneca Foundation, along with other health professionals and researchers recognised for bringing scientific knowledge closer to society.