Why Should I Care About Two-Factor Authentication?

Did you know cybercriminal activity increased by 600% in 2020 alone? When the pandemic struck and businesses were forced online, criminals saw an opportunity in the chaos and confusion to make the most damage to those who were the most vulnerable. Cybercrimes such as ransomware, phishing attacks, and theft of intellectual property are only the beginning. In 2021 the damages worldwide totaled close to $6 trillion. For reference, that amount of money would be the equivalent to giving every single person in the whole world $774 each. With the significant rise of cybercrimes in the past 2 years, we all need to make more strides in both our personal and business security to meet this ever growing challenge. One extremely simple way to better protect ourselves in this cyberwar is by addressing our account and login security.

The average person online has 100 passwords in circulation, so it can be tempting to choose something simple and easy to remember. We often don’t consider how simple and easy it would be for a cybercriminal to find one password and then gain access to a slew of logins for other websites. What sensitive information of yours or your organization could they discover and use for ransom or identity theft? 

Three very important rules of thumb:

1. Never write down or share your passwords. Never. Even email and text messages that you think are safe aren’t places for passwords. You wouldn’t feel very safe sending your house key in the mail. How much more vulnerable are your passwords when you share or take note of them online? It’s all too easy for a hacker to find that information and use it against you. If you do have to share a password, do so by using a password manager, discussed in the point below.
2. Regularly update your passwords (every few months at least). This one may seem like a pain, but the possibility of falling prey to a cybercriminal could result in loss of privacy, money, and important files or data. Don’t risk it!
3. Two Factor Authentication is your best weapon. Whether a code is sent to you via text message or an Authenticator app gives you a code, each adds an additional layer of security that is just flat out necessary in today’s world. If a website asks if you would like to turn on this feature, 100% of the time we advise you to opt-in! 

Sources:

Cloudwards https://www.cloudwards.net/cyber-security-statistics/