1-2-3 Protect Yourself
The 1-2-3 plan to protect yourself consists of Passphrases, Password Managers and Two-Factor Authentication (2FA). Each one of them will increase your protection level, and ideally, you'll combine all three to maximize your defences.
Passphrases
A passphrase is a type of password that is longer and more secure. It consists of a sequence of words or other text, such as numbers, symbols and even spaces and it does not follow any grammar or language rules.
Good Examples
mango jupiter 66ski baritonegorillaTacoGreen podcast sweet! @42
Bad Example
Benefits
They are easier to remember than complex passwords that have random letters, numbers, and symbols.
By being longer, they are harder to crack by brute force attacks.
Because they are easier to remember, they are less likely to be reused across different accounts, protecting you from data leaks - when passwords and personal information are stolen and shared with the public or malicious agents.
Tips to create passphrases
Use at least 15 characters or more. The longer the passphrase, the better.
Use random words that are not related to each other or to you. Avoid using common phrases, song lyrics, personal information, or anything that can be easily guessed.
Add some numbers and symbols to increase the complexity and entropy of the passphrase. You can also use capital letters or misspell some words to make it harder to guess.
Use a different passphrase for each account. Do not reuse the same passphrase for multiple accounts or services.
If possible, mix different languages in your passphrase.
Password Managers
Password managers are applications that store and in many cases provide secure passwords for all of your accounts, allowing you to focus on creating only one very secure passphrase, instead of multiple ones for each service you use.
Benefits
You only need to create and use one main password or passphrase to access all of your services.
Most password managers help you create strong password options of different lengths and complexity, making each one of your accounts more secure.
Some other options within these applications are the capacity to sync your passwords between devices, share securely with specific people and allow storing sensitive information.
Two-factor Authentication (2FA)
This is a security method that requires two pieces of information to verify a user, think of it as using multiple locks in your door. This means that having the code, password or passphrase is not enough to open the combination lock or access someone's account.
The two pieces of information are often referred to as something that you know and something that you have. What you know can be a PIN, a password or a passphrase and what you have is usually a device such as a phone, computer, security token or even your fingerprint or face.
2FA makes it much harder for malicious agents to access your information and accounts as it is no longer enough to just figure out your password.
You implemented your 1-2-3 Protect Yourself plan to maximize your online defences, but there are some other vulnerabilities that we need to be aware of, we'll cover them in our next section, Social Engineering.
🤿 Optional: Deep Dive - Passwords, Password Managers and 2FA
Learn more about passwords and passphrases from the Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF - LINK
Password guidance from the Government of Canada - LINK
Password managers and 2FA from the Government of Canada - LINK
How to choose a password manager from the Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF - LINK
2FA from the Electronic Frontier Foundation EFF - LINK
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