UP Police urge netizens to keep strong passwords

Lucknow, March 9 The UP Police, in its report Overview of Cyber Crimes have urged people to keep strong passwords in order to counter cybercrime.

The report also highlights online malpractices like "key logging" and "hacking".

In the past three years, Uttar Pradesh has recorded more than three lakh cybercrime cases, according to IPS Triveni Singh, superintendent of police, cybercrime cell.

The latest National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data also shows that the state is second only to Telangana in cybercrime cases in the country.

The official said, "Not many netizens secure their online accounts with strong alphanumeric passwords which is probably the most fundamental step to ensure cybersecurity. Even the few who take the trouble of coming up with uneasy-to-crack passwords end up using the same (or similar variations) for several accounts. UP has a record number of cybercrime cases reported due to low level of cyber awareness among victims and law enforcement.

"Using weak and simple passwords is a recipe for data breaches, account takeovers, and other forms of cyberattack."

Cyber experts are of the opinion that while simple passwords are a big 'no', remembering a complex password for every account and website is virtually impossible.

According to cybersecurity firms, people still opt for poorly-thought out passwords like "123456", "password", and "qwerty". Some even go for "111111", "123456789".

The negligence is nonplussing at a time when password security issues account for 80 per cent of all data breaches globally, according to Verizon's 2022 Data Breach Investigations Report.

"People use weak passwords as they are easy to remember. Also, we are often required to change passwords frequently, and for convenience, people tend to choose simple variations of their previous passwords, which can also easily be guessed by hackers. One way to deal with the problem is using a password manager, which is a tool that stores all your passwords in a secure, encrypted database. This way, you only have to remember one master password to access all your other passwords.

"Another way to create strong and memorable passwords is to use a passphrase. A passphrase is a sequence of words or a phrase that you can easily remember, such as 'mycatiscool23'," said Upendra Upadhyaya, a cyber expert.

However, it is not advisable to save passwords in browsers like Chrome as today's malware programmes can steal saved Chrome and Firefox passwords easily. Using multi-factor authentication, which adds an extra layer of security, can make a huge difference.