Are you helping cybercriminals?
08 September 2020Make sure you use different passwords everywhere!
Is your Netflix password the same as your email password and the password for your Instagram account? Do you also use this password to log in to the office network, at your bank and at (third-rate) webshops that do not have their security in order?
How we contribute to cybercrime
Cybercriminals are smart, but they are helped by us when we use the same passwords for different purposes. Criminals seek access to email traffic and pretend to be someone else. They create email accounts that closely resemble trusted accounts in order to take over the communication between two parties. At that point, you think you are emailing with a known party, but actually you are emailing with a scammer.
Perhaps they pose as employees of your company and email on behalf of HR. Or they pretend to be a supplier and inform the administration that the bank account number has changed. In this way, you transfer money to the criminal's bank. Sometimes it takes a while before the fraud is discovered and money has already been funneled away.
Cybercriminals can watch along
Watch out! There are still many amateurish webshops where hackers can easily get hold of your (login) details.
Subsequently, cybercriminals will try to see if you use that password for other accounts as well, and that is how they get into well-secured websites and applications. They can read along with you and find out all your digital data! With this data they can, for example, place orders; of course, they then have these orders delivered to a different address.
Free Tools for passwords
There are various programs that can help you create and remember a password, so you don't have to do it yourself. As an employer, you can encourage employees to work safely.
