Recently, there was a massive hack of over 1 Billion user names and passwords from website databases by a Russian gang.
Below are some key facts about the cyber attack:
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Multiple username and password combinations worked across different sites
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About 540 Million email addresses were stolen
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420,000 sites were hacked
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Botnets were used to test or perform vulnerability scans on different websites
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Structured Query Language (SQL) injection was used to hack vulnerable websites
It is recommend that you immediately change the passwords on all of your personal accounts such as your web mail, banking, Facebook, etc.
Helpful hints for creating a strong password:
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Create a password that you have never used before, as reusing old passwords doesn’t eliminate the risk. The hackers may already have that user name and password combination.
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A good password is something that is long and complex.
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Additionally, a strong password will be a combination of numbers, special characters, and upper and lower case letters.
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You can further make it more secure and easier to remember by making it a phrase.
We recommend creating your password with these guidelines:
Let’s use the phrase “cat in the hat” as an example. Using special characters and numbers as letters, your new password would become C@t1nth3h@t!.
For more information on cyber security threats:
