Increased security is the solution, according to Barry Scott, CTO EMEA, Centrify.
One of the reasons websites will have to step up security is the increased danger in the online world. The online world is becoming vigorously dangerous, and websites have been left with no option other than stepping up security significantly.
Increased security is the solution, according to Barry Scott, CTO EMEA, Centrify.
Mumsnet is a top-rated site, and it is easy for users to be tricked into feeding their username and password into a clone site. This could happen through a phishing attack or automatic redirection by nasty code injected to the legitimate Mumsnet site. Once innocent users enter their login details on a fake website, uberima fidei, the attacker will collect them and use them on the Mumsnet official site.
The standard rules are still in play – change passwords regularly, don’t use the same password on Mumsnet and other sites; passwords should not be easily predictable. They should be a combination of letters, numbers, characters, and passwords should not be shared with loved ones or friends.
One of the easiest ways to stop such attacks is multi-factor authentication. This implies that you will need to press a button on your phone whenever you are initiating a login process or entering your username and password to confirm your real identity. This means that whenever your password is stolen, you would also have to lose your phone for someone to successfully login your account.
“It is unfortunate for someone somewhere to think that it’s worthwhile spending his time to carry out such an attack and waste law enforcement authorities’ resources to terrify some poor family.”
The idea of requiring a mobile device during website login could imply that we are probably facing a kind of security where bank-style security will be the norm.
Will users shun away from visiting such sites or will the security benefits outweigh this inconvenience which is proving to be a hazardous online environment?