By Vikas Bhonsle, CEO, Crayon Software Experts India
A password is a pre-defined series of words, numbers or symbols that gives us access to any software, platform, or device. However, with technology becoming more complex and the increasing cyber risks, a password is now just one part of the security process. Even though passwords are still very relevant today, the nature of access through password is more nuanced and multi-faceted. The coronavirus epidemic is the perfect tempest for hackers and the most horrible-case scenario for business. More remote workers, more connected devices, and riskier connections present a dangerous combination for business attempting to weather the public health emergency. Indeed, the very changes brought on by the “new normal” favour an online environment in which hackers, scammers, and spammers thrive. Today, we have multi-factor authentication (MFA), in which the user is required to provide multiple verification factors to gain access in any app or online platform, accounts and VPN. This could be an email ID, phone number, along a security password. It comes under Identity and Access Management (IAM policy), which ascertains to the maximum extent that the person trying to access is legitimate and not a hacker or a bot. In terms of devices, access through fingerprints, retina, facial recognition, or voice recognition also comes under MFA.
At the same time, these measures must be kept updated and remodified, as per the advancement of technologies. We know about techniques such as Man-in-the-Middle, Eavesdropping and Keylogging, and AI-aided techniques such as deep fakes, amongst others, that hackers are using to breach access or fake any legitimate person online. At any given moment, these hackers are trying to evade all possible security measures and come up with more advanced technologies to ambush into our networks and misuse or steal our data online.
Hence, it is important that as we go from using more advanced devices and technologies to another, we also update ourselves with the security implications and maintain strict cyber-hygiene. Our behaviour with our devices will be one of the most crucial factors for having a secure cyber experience in the coming time.