Sanjil

Data theft and fraudulent use of payment networks are becoming a serious problem in financial services. Before you know, money could move out of your account to frauds.

A recent study by ASSOCHAM-Mahindra SSG revealed that the past three years has seen a six-fold increase in the cases of data theft. This is an alarming statistics, as, after demonetisation, a large number of transactions have now moved online.

Your data online is subjected to the danger of being stolen unless it is secured by a strong password. A password that is not only easy to remember but also difficult to crack.

Here are some tips to create a strong and secure password:

1. Does your password contain at least 8-10 characters? -  An ideal password should be long and should contain at least 8 characters. If you have more than 8 characters, a hacker or a code-breaking software application has to work harder.    

2. Does your password have uncommon words? -You should not use common nouns in your password. Names, places and dictionary words should be avoided. These are easy to discover.

3. Does your password contain the right combination? A password should be a combination of 4 different keys. It should be created with a combination of special characters, numbers and alphabets. It should also contain an alphabet in upper case and lower case each. For e.g. 'Yahoo@576$' is better than 'yahoo123'. Do not use words like 'password' or sequences like 12345 after your name for a password.

4. Never put personal information.

You may never know who might try to crack your password. You should never use your personal information as a password. You should even avoid using your nicknames, birth year or your loved one's name. Someone who knows even basic details about you can use that information to guess your password.

Secure your password:

Now you know how to create a good secure password. But you should also know how to keep it safe.

1. Do not share your password - Your password is meant only for you. You should not share it with anyone. Not even with your family and friends. A casual attitude here can cause some serious damage to your finances.

2. Do not write it down: Noting down your password may carry with it, a risk of being discovered. Even passwords are noted, they cannot be in the same wallet as your card. Memorise your passwords.  

3. Try new combinations -Change your password every 6 months. Whenever you change it, make sure that you do not use the similar combination. Also, do not use the same combination or words just by adding numbers or character to the old one.

4. Take the help of password management service.- A password management service allows you to generate a new password every time. This service also stores and encrypts passwords for you. You will only need to remember a single master password. You may use their service to get a secure password for you.