The week of June 7th may have seen the biggest release of hacked data ever published to the dark web. Hackers publicly released over 8 billion username and password combinations!
A 100GB list of data assumed to be stolen during various hacks was posted to a popular hacker forum. This is now being referred to as the “RockYou2020” list.
Want To Check To See If You Were A Part Of This?
Check here to see if your data was part of this dump: https://cybernews.com/personal-data-leak-check/
To use this tool, all you must do is enter your email or phone number. The tool can safely access the hacked username and password combinations on the dark web. It will let you know if your data is found.
What To Do If Your Data Was A Part Of The Released Data
If the tool tells you that your data was compromised, you should start mitigation steps immediately. Go to every account that uses the exposed username/password and change the password. Be sure to use different passwords for each account that are considered to be “strong”.
Want to know what makes a strong password? A rule of thumb is to create a password that has the following 6 characteristics:
- More than 12 characters
- Contains at least 1 uppercase character
- Contains at least 1 lowercase character
- Contains at least 1 number
- Contains at least 1 symbol
- Contains no “real” words that could be guessed via a dictionary attack (where they go through a list of words from the dictionary and try to guess your password)
In addition, you’ll want to be sure to look for any unexpected activity within the account. Make sure that all of your personal information is correct and that no money has been transferred unexpectedly.
If given the option, turn on the “Two-Factor Authentication” (or “2FA”) option associated with the account. This will require you to enter a code from your cell phone or email to authenticate who you are. 2FA protects your accounts from hacker dumps like this.
Yes, this is a pain. However, it’s better to have your personal and financial data protected.
How To Protect Your Data Easily Using Password Managers
There are ways to make tasks associated with passwords easier. According to a study by NordPass, the average person has 100+ online passwords. Who can remember that many passwords?
INF recommends using a password manager like KeePass or 1Password. A password manager will help you create and remember well-formed passwords for all of your accounts. In fact, you can copy and paste from these managers, so you don’t have to type anything going forward.
These password managers can also be installed on your phone. This makes browsing the web a breeze when you need to access your passwords.
Is There Anything That You Can Do To Protect Your Business Further?
Yes, you can protect your business with a cyber liability policy. These policies help protect you from the threat of hackers, data dumps, stolen passwords, ransomware attacks and more.
It takes less than 5 minutes to fill out the application for this insurance. Contact INF to get started at 412.563.2106.