With cyber-crime on the rise and the White House warning of possible Russian cyberattacks, you should be taking action to keep your accounts protected. While good password health isn’t the end all be all to remaining safe, avoiding these 5 password mistakes is a great start!

1) Personal Information: Stay away from using your name, birthday, social security number or anything that could be tied back to your identity.

2) Common Phrases: “Qwerty”, “Password”, “123456”, and other commonly used phrases should be avoided at all costs.

3) Letters Only: It is imperative you mix in a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters/punctuation marks.

4) Pets and Children: They are your family and you love them, but don’t show them love by having them be a part of your password. It’s very easy for a hacker to access their names through a Facebook profile photo or other online records.

5) Sticky Note Passwords: It’s really easy to just keep a note taped to your desk or computer with your password Eliminate this practice as you are making it easier for someone to access your accounts.

 

There has never been a more important time to have your practice protected from cyber-threats. At PCIHIPAA we help thousands of small practices spanning all 50 states stay safe.