http://www.deloitte.com/view/en_GX/global/industries/technology-media-telecommunications/tmt-predictions-2013/tmt-predictions-2013-technology/9eb6f4efcbccb310VgnVCM1000003256f70aRCRD.htm

P@$$1234: the end of strong password-only security

Are your online passwords at least 8 characters long, and with numbers and symbols?

Deloitte predicts that in 2013 more than 90 percent of user-generated passwords, even those considered strong by IT departments, will be vulnerable to hacking. Inadequate password protection may result in billions of dollars of losses, declining confidence in Internet transactions and significant damage to the reputations of the companies compromised by attacks. As the value of the information protected by passwords continues to grow, attracting more hack attempts, high-value sites will likely require additional forms of authentication.

How do passwords get hacked? The problem is not that a hacker discovers a username, goes to a login page and attempts to guess the password. That wouldn’t work: most web sites freeze an account after a limited number of unsuccessful attempts, not nearly enough to guess even the weakest password.

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Password

A company was doing a security audit of its network.

During the audit, it was discovered that one woman's password was "MickeyMinniePlutoHueyLouieDeweyDonaldGoofy."

The auditors asked why she had such a long password.

The blonde replied that she was told that passwords must contain at least eight characters.