@pusher 11 September 2020 edited

Edward Snowden's advice for stronger passwords

Your password is often the first line of defense that is relied upon to protect your personal data. Unfortunately, it's also something that is not taken seriously by most people. Here's some simple advice on how to create a strong password from an expert. **Who is Edward Snowden?**

In 2013, Edward Snowden became one of the most famous whistleblowers in history. He revealed thousands of classified documents to journalists, who in turn exposed the widespread, covert, and illegal collection of personal information by the NSA. I'm not going to share his entire story, but it's amazing, and worth learning about. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edward_Snowden https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Security_Agency In 2015, he offered his advice on how to create strong passwords in an interview with John Oliver. https://www.hbo.com/last-week-tonight-with-john-oliver https://youtu.be/SuaNGOx4ZSc **Some examples of weak passwords**

Image by Ingela Skullman from Pixabay  https://pixabay.com/users/Skullman-914392/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=801685 https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=801685   Snowden revealed that a hacker with the right software can uncover a weak 8-character password in less than one second! The following are some of the worst passwords used in the world: https://www.forbes.com/sites/daveywinder/2019/12/14/ranked-the-worlds-100-worst-passwords/#39ef216669b4 12345 123456 123456789 test1 password 12345678 zinch g_czechout asdf qwerty 1234567890 1234567 Aa123456. iloveyou 1234 abc123 111111 123123 dubsmash test If your password is on this list, it's a good idea for you to change it as soon as possible! **How to create a strong password**

Image by Reimund Bertrams from Pixabay  https://pixabay.com/users/8385-8385/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=913452 https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=913452   **Tip #1** ...shift your thinking from passwords to "pass-phrases", **Edward Snowden**, 2015   **Tip #2** Think about a common phrase that works for you, **Edward Snowden**, 2015   **Tip #3** ...(pass-phrases should be) too long to brute force, and also make them unlikely to be in the dictionary, **Edward Snowden**, 2015   An example of a strong pass-phrase he provided was `margretthatcheris110%SEXY` Yes, it checks all the boxes! a memorable phrase includes upper and lower case letters includes numbers includes a special character My suggestion for improvement would be to include more than one special character to make your pass-phrase that much more difficult to crack. I should mention that Snowden recommended the use of a password manager in 2019, but his advice on passwords is a good start to securing your personal data! https://www.pcmag.com/picks/the-best-password-managers

Thanks for reading, and stay safe! Follow me Twitter: *@kragle_t* https://twitter.com/kragle_t   Cover photo (cropped) by succo from Pixabay https://pixabay.com/users/succo-96729/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=628703 https://pixabay.com/?utm_source=link-attribution&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=image&utm_content=628703 *Last edited September 14, 2020*