Internet in our lives is the corridor that allows us to open multiple doors that hold tons of information. Some of those doors are not too relevant, but others contain drawers and safes that, if opened, can directly affect our personal, work, and economic life.
The Headache of the 21st Century
Every day we hear about an acquaintance, coworker, friend, or neighbor who claims to have been "hacked." A word that has become so widespread that we forget it comes from the verb “hack” related to informatics: it can be understood as unauthorized access to a computer system or, especially among programmer jargon, as a trick, a checkmate to the code that today more than ever represents the board on which we play the games of our life.
Just as we have keys, locks, alarms, bars, and take all kinds of precautions to feel secure, we generally do not do the same with the passwords we use to access platforms and websites that contain personal data (and some very sensitive), work life, photos, videos, contacts, credit card numbers, private interactions, savings, in short, the virtual mirror that reflects the reality behind the screen.
Saint and Key of the New Era
In addition to defining passwords for the myriad of virtual services immersed in society, education, and work, there are different measures to consider to make it harder for hackers:
- Create passwords with various and diverse digits. As long as the system allows, include uppercase letters (not just at the beginning but also somewhere in the middle), numbers, and less conventional symbols (like &, %, {).
- Update passwords regularly and do not reuse them on different platforms or sites.
- Store passwords in analog formats (what we used to know as "pen and paper") or in some database with a master key or password (for example, the Keypass program).
Shielding the Virtual Door
There are second access barriers, better known as “Two-Factor Authentication” or MFA (Multi-Factor Authentication), which are most effective in preventing third-party intrusions into user accounts.
What is it about? It is an extra access route that is enabled after entering the password (the first access barrier). Generally, these identity confirmation tools can be:
- Recording some biometric feature such as a fingerprint or user face requested at the time of accessing the site or application.
- The use of an external application that generates a code that expires after a few minutes. That code is sent to the user either by SMS (the old text message), by email, or through the use of an app (like Google Authenticator). We use it all the time in home banking applications under the name “Token.”
- The user defines a code (usually six numeric digits) that the application requests every so often. This is the method applied by most chat services like Whatsapp and is very useful in preventing our account from being stolen because if a third party gets the code usually sent by SMS, the app will also request that number, which only the owner of that phone number knows.
Each site or app has a menu to activate this double barrier. Generally, it is found in the personal settings section, in Security, Access, or Privacy options.
Any more keys?
It is evident that the first thing we think of when familiarizing ourselves with these methods and preventive measures is that they are complex, difficult, and a bit annoying processes.
However, we must understand that what we store in these infinite virtual drawers is valuable and can bring us more than one headache if it falls into the wrong hands.
More than a hack, a headache.
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