The cybersecurity company Specops recommends avoiding passwords that refer to the school domain to prevent cyberattacks.
By ThePoint.fr
© JAKUB PORZYCKI / NurPhoto / NurPhoto via AFP
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L’education is one of the sectors most vulnerable to cyberattacks. According to Microsoft, the domain accounts for almost 80% of malware-related incidents reported in the last thirty days. Analysts from cybersecurity firm Specops have studied more than 800 million compromised passwords to determine how often school-related terms end up in password lists.
While data security is a priority for all sectors, in education it is particularly important to protect the sensitive information and privacy of users, such as the personal information of students, their families and personnel on all the devices used.
Too common passwords
Given the context in which schools are currently evolving and faced with the multiple attacks to which they are subject, such as that targeting the University of Corsica, the potential threats are numerous. The company recommends certain measures to be taken to minimize cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Among them, avoid recurring passwords. A company report shed light on common patterns and themes found in compromised passwords, and highlighted security holes created by reusing recurring passwords.
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For example, generic terms related to school, such as “college”, “recreation” or even “student”, should be avoided. Ditto for passwords related to school supplies (“pen”, “pencil”…) as well as to professions (“teacher”, “assistant”…) or to the subjects taught (“science”, “maths”…) . A single compromised password is the starting point for many attacks, the study says. To reduce risk, the company urges schools to create compliant password policies and use phrases instead of just a term.