Despite many high profile instances of online fraud, it can be easy to become complacent about the dangers. But in today’s world, where everyone has a unique digital identity based on our online presence, the threats are very real.

Our social media activity, healthcare and financial records, login credentials and web history are all at risk. If we want to prevent identity theft and fraud, we need to protect our digital identities.

Passwords are the key to the door. The first stage of defence is the password. Passwords protect access to our digital identities, but this area is still often the easiest and most attractive area for hackers to attack. 

A recent security exercise showed the vulnerability of passwords and how they unlock the door to so much online fraud, revealing that half of all accounts compromised by phishing attacks were manually accessed less than 12 hours after the password and username were leaked.

The opportunity for cybercriminals and hackers is immense. It’s also widespread, with over 80% of hacking-related breaches due to misplaced or stolen credentials.

The simplest solution would appear to be a regular reset of passwords. But this option is still vulnerable because people use the same passwords across multiple websites.

This means that if one website or service is breached and credentials are leaked, hackers can access digital accounts across a wider range of sites and services.

Read more at Security Brief – What is identity and access management and why is it so important?