Credential Stuffing

Ever heard of Credential stuffing?  Maybe you had a bite of it with your turkey at Thanksgiving.  Probably not. 

When there is a breach and credentials are stolen...  hackers can then take those details and try them on other programs.  All it takes to make that work is the same username and password reused just once. (Who, me?Let’s be honest, we’ve all done it!)

Think of all the times you’ve used the same username (usually your email address) and the same password on two different websites.  Would you believe that 90% of accounts are hacked in just this way?  Over 3 billion accounts hacked this way in 2016 alone - in large part due to the 1.5 billion user breach at Yahoo. After that breach, many users changed their Yahoo password, but did they change it on all the accounts where they were reusing it? I think it’s clear that step didn’t happen for many folks.

What can you do to make yourself less vulnerable? 

• Stop reusing passwords. (Did I just hear you sigh? Yes - it’s a nuisance - but a password manager can really help make it easier.)

• Turn on 2-factor authentication. Yes - another hassle. Just like locking your house, setting an alarm and turning on the front porch light... you can build a routine that makes steps like this second nature so it’s not so cumbersome.

Starting your kids off with good habits will make it easier for them keep their accounts safe & private as technology impacts more and more of our lives.

Not sure where to start? Drop me a line - I can help.