Many users make the mistake of using the same password on multiple
websites.
Experts at SophosLabs™, Sophos's global
network of virus, spyware and spam analysis centers, have warned
computer users that using the same password on multiple websites
greatly increases the risk of falling victim to hackers, following
news that players of a global online game have been asked to change
their passwords due to a security breach.
Players of the "Second Life" online fantasy game were asked to
change their passwords after a hacker broke into a database holding
information about the game's 650,000 users. This information
included addresses, passwords and encrypted credit card details.
According to Sophos, while changing passwords will prevent
criminals from gaining access to users' Second Life accounts, they
could still be at risk if they use the same password for other
websites.
"Gamers may think that once they modify their Second Life
password, they've eliminated the danger, however the reality is
that the old password may now be used by hackers to target other
accounts," said Graham
Cluley, senior technology consultant at Sophos. "It's bad
enough that criminals were able to gain access to such personal
details in the first place, but even if this avenue has now been
closed off, hackers could well find themselves with an opportunity
to access the email, eBay or even banking accounts of unsuspecting
Second Life users."
A recent Sophos
web poll uncovered that 41 percent of business PC users
admitted to using the same password all the time, while just 14
percent use a different password for every website they access.
"Not every website will treat your password with the same degree
of confidentially, so it's vital that users ensure they use
different passwords for sites which carry sensitive data about
them," continued Cluley. "On top of that, if the passwords deployed
are all short dictionary words, it won't be hard for a hacking
program to figure them out, so it's equally important to make each
password hard to guess."
Sophos continues to recommend companies protect their desktops
and servers with automatically updated anti-virus protection, and
educate their employees on safe computing, including the
intelligent use of passwords.
More than 100 million users in 150 countries rely on Sophos as the best protection against complex threats and data loss. Sophos is committed to providing security and data protection solutions that are simple to manage, deploy and use and that deliver the industry's lowest total cost of ownership. Sophos offers award-winning encryption, endpoint security, web, email, and network access control solutions backed by SophosLabs - a global network of threat intelligence centers. With more than two decades of experience, Sophos is regarded as a leader in security and data protection by top analyst firms and has received many industry awards.
Sophos is headquartered in Boston, US and Oxford, UK. More information is available at www.sophos.com.