For better e-security, have at least 3 passwords

Feb 26, 2010 7:00 AM

As we’ve reported previously, organized crime has increasingly succeeded in hacking into customer records at banks and other financial service providers. While there’s not much you can do to guard against criminals cracking the bank’s own online security system, there is one crucial move you can make to ensure that you’re not making the mistake of handing thieves the key to your bank account yourself. Namely, have multiple passwords.

A recent survey by the online security firm Trusteer surprisingly revealed that the majority of online banking customers use the same password for their financial accounts as they do for other less secure websites, including social networks or webmail services. Thieves can more easily hack into non-financial websites, where they steal log-in credentials, which they then can use to break into your financial accounts.

Given the consolidation that’s occurred in the banking industry, it’s not such a daunting task for crooks to test out those log-in credentials on several online banking sites in hopes that they’ll work on at least one of them.

The survey found that 73 percent of bank customers use their online account password to access other websites, and that 47 percent use both their online banking user ID and password to login elsewhere on the Internet. Trusteer’s security experts recommend that you keep at least three sets of log-in credentials:

• The first set to be used only with financial websites

• A second set to be used with non-financial websites that hold information about your identity, such as social networking sites.

• A third set to be used on websites that don’t main any confidential information about you—Andrea Rock

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