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How Strong Passwords Can Secure You from Cyber Attacks While Browsing the Web?

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Jennie Miller

The Internet shouldn’t be considered secure while browsing the web. The best way to keep secure browsing is often recommended using strong and unique passwords for all of your online accounts and devices. But, you will be unsecured if your devices don’t have a strong password. Unfortunately, it is often the case with a large number of smart devices. New research from Avira’s IoT research team has reported that they have found 34% of all cyberattacks on connected devices took place because weak or no password credentials were set at all. The cybercriminals focus on a known vulnerability in a smart TV, smart camera, or other connected devices while launching IoT attacks. They tried different username/ password combinations in order to get entry into the device connected via the Internet.

Moreover, the ‘blank input fields’ combination is significantly much higher than the number of attacks with other popular username/ password combinations which suggests that many smart device manufacturers are leaving these fields empty and therefore, easily reachable by the hackers. The security researchers at Avira also used honeypots as a means of acquiring the data needed for their latest investigation. Point to be noted that honeypots are often used in the fight against cyberattacks. They allow researchers to attract hackers to uncover their latest techniques and preferred targets. The manager of Avira’s Protection Labs and IoT Research Lab explained in a press release that blank credentials are even more common than using ‘admin’ as a password.

He said, “The most common credentials used by IoT attacks consist of a blank field. We found this via the Avira smart device honeypot. At the same time, this means that the attackers or their automated scripts do not enter a username or password to access the device. A blank password is even more common than the ‘admin’ password”. It is noteworthy that Avira recommends first trying to connect them to a PC in order to change their insecure default password to secure smart devices. However, some experts believe it won’t necessarily work on every smart device. Moreover, users can also check for firmware updates online to fix any known vulnerabilities or problems with their devices.

Source: https://www.techhound.org/how-to/how-strong-passwords-can-secure-you-from-cyberattacks-while-browsing-the-web/

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Jennie Miller
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