Why do I have to have separate passwords for each site?

Tweet

In 2014, hackers stole nude photos from the private iCloud account of actress Jennifer Lawrence, posting them on the web for the world to see. In fact, over a hundred celebrities over the past six years have been the victims of cyber attacks, their reputations damaged by the leak of private and sensitive details and their financial data compromised. All too often, hackers gain access to celebrity accounts because the victims used the same password on multiple websites. And celebrities aren't the only targets of hackers. A study commissioned by the U.K.'s Office of Communications (Ofcom) found that 55% of online users employ the same password for all websites. The repeated use of the same password for every website a user visits leads to security vulnerabilities and makes the task of the hacker too easy.

Hackers utilize various methods to crack user accounts, such as rainbow tables, social engineering (the gathering of the names and birthdays of computer users and their relatives and pets from social networks) and stealing passwords from websites with weak security. When a user's password on a website is compromised, hackers have access to the username and password combination, which they then try on other websites. If the same or similar password of a user is found across the web, "black hats" will gain access to all of these accounts in the twinkling of an eye. Particularly frightening is the theft of a user's email password. With this data, a black hat can use password-reset links to access other websites, such as online banking accounts, iCloud and Gmail accounts.

The reuse of a password for various web accounts is a widespread and serious problem, leading to a multitude of password leaks from businesses and celebrities alike. So, what steps can be taken to protect one's cybersecurity?

Important Online Security Tips

1. Use a unique password for each account
   This rule should atop every user's list. It's that simple.
2. Use strong passwords, preferably generated at random Using a weak password makes you an easy target for hackers, so take time to carefully select a password that's hard to guess or crack. Often hackers attack specific people such as celebrities but usually, they attack user accounts with the weakest passwords due to the high cost of attacking accounts protected with strong passwords.
3. Get a password manager
   So, the importance of a strong and hard-to-guess password is now apparent. But how to remember them all? And what about the hassle of entering them each time one logs in? The easiest way to keep track of passwords is by use of a password manager to keep abreast with them all. Password managers also protect users against phishing by warning against the posting of credentials into a fraudulent (phishing) site. Password managers recognize incorrect domain names that may seem legitimate to a casual glance.
   We recommend the use of KeyReel — a convenient password manager that doesn't trade security for convenience. Alternatively, consider other apps such as LastPass or 1Password.

Read more tips here.

We hope this information provided here will keep you secure and your online accounts from being hacked.