It\’s National Password Day – Change your Password!

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) is encouraging people to change their passwords on the top three accounts they would\’t want hacked. A recent article in the Tri-City News is encouraging us all to change our passwords. Here at Community Ventures Society (CVS), we are encouraging all of our staff and individuals across our community to change their passwords today & to make a point of doing this on a regular basis. Set a reminder & change those passwords to protect your information. 

The article notes that more than half of Canadians reported they have been a victim of fraudulent requests for personal information and malware, and nine out of ten Canadians identify cybercrime as a “serious challenge to the country’s security, bigger than terrorism, corruption, and other criminal activity,” according to a November, 2018 study.

In order to create a strong password, the BBB recommends you:

*   Use between 8 – 13 characters

*   Use a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers and symbols

*   Use song lyrics, words in another language or unusual movie titles

*   Avoid words found in the dictionary

*   Avoid using family and pet names

*   Avoid using birth dates

*   Avoid adding a number or letter to the last password you had. Create something new.

No matter how strong your passwords are, change them regularly — at least two to three times a year, said the BBB — and never share passwords with anyone.

We live an age where password protection is necessary so we hope you take these pointers seriously and act today!