This week is Cyber Scotland Week, aimed at raising awareness and supporting organisations and individuals to be cyber resilient.
One of the easiest ways we can stay secure is by maintaining good password security. This protects sensitive data from cybercriminals and stops attackers from compromising personal, organisational, or governmental information.
Around 80% of online attacks are caused by stolen passwords with 70% of weak passwords taking less than a second to crack. Criminals use a variety of ways to harvest your information to help to crack your password so it’s important to follow the guidance below to ensure your password is as secure as possible.
You should avoid:
- Using passwords such as 12345myaccount and Welcome1#
- Including football team references
- Writing down passwords on post it notes or phone notes
- Reusing old passwords.
You should aim to:
- Create a password that’s long enough and strong enough
- Use three random words to make up your password - Three random words on the National Cyber Security Centre website
- Use around 16 characters in length
- Include at least one number
- Include at least one special character
- Use unique phrases
- Use different passwords for all the accounts you own
- Test your password strength here: Password Strength Meter.
Activities and additional notes:
- For more information on passwords, please visit the Cyber Scotland website.
The use of weak passwords leaves the Council open to breaches which could result in reputational damage to the Council, financial loss and loss of vital services to the Community.
In the event your password is compromised please contact the ICT Service Desk on 0141 578 8888 as soon as you’re aware. It’s important you speak to a member of the team rather than email so it can be dealt with immediately.
You can change your password by pressing Ctrl, Alt, Delete then clicking > Change a password and following the instructions.
If you have any other concerns about Cyber Security please get in touch with our ICT Security team at it.serviceline@eastdunbarton.gov.uk
Thank you,
Jamie Robertson
Executive Officer, Finance & Digital Services
