Password Change doesn’t save you from Cyber Attacks

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All these days there was a myth among web users that changing passwords on a regular note will help in isolating them from cyber attacks. But Paul Edmonds, head of technology at UK National Cyber Crime Unit claims that this is a fallacy spread by security experts.

The cyber chief added that passwords changed on a regular note make users less secure and more prone to cyber attacks.

Speaking his mind at a Security and Counter Terror Conference in London, Paul added that password change doesn’t make the users less prone to attacks and vice versa.

Quoting an example of the security policy adopted by PayPal, MR. Edmonds said that the financial gateway doesn’t ask its customers to change the password for years. The reason, if it did, then it would have lost money.

Experts believe that by changing passwords on a regular note, users tend to adopt for weaker passwords and this gradually exposes them to hackers.

Speaking at the conference on the ongoing online terror spread by Islamic Groups, Rob Wainwright, the head of European Union Policy Agency concurred with the opinion of Mr. Edmunds on changing passwords on a regular note. And added that he still uses a 2-year old password to fetch his banking account and added that 2-way authentication helps in isolating him from all troubles.

At the conference, Rob also discussed a bit on the terrorist groups using online platforms for their illegal activities. He said that terror organizations are now busy in developing their own social media platforms to avoid security crackdowns on their communication mediums.

Rob added that a similar website which was being used by terror agencies was cracked down last week and this paid way to know the fact.

Mr. Wainwright said that apps like Telegram, in particular, had been creating problems for  Europol, and accused the firm of being evasive on its work objective.

He said that most companies like Facebook, Google and Whatsapp were coming forward to help the security agencies in counter-terror operations. But at the same time, some firms like Telegram which use high encryption were non-cooperating in the mission of securing the populace of UK from terror attacks. So, he felt that a technical crackdown on them is needed in near future.

Rob Wainwright, added that the much-needed security cooperation between EU and Britain will continue as now, even after Brexit.
So, do you believe the same that changing passwords on a regular note will not work in cyberspace anymore?

If not, please share your mind through the comments section below.

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Naveen Goud is a writer at Cybersecurity Insiders covering topics such as Mergers & Acquisitions, Startups, Cyber Attacks, Cloud Security and Mobile Security

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