Password Management: Keeping your treasures safe

Do you keep all your money under the mattress? Or perhaps you collect bank cards like trading cards? No matter your style, wherever you keep your valuables, you want to keep them hidden from thieves.

When it comes to passwords, they are unfortunately difficult for humans to manage on their own - it’s a bit like keeping all of your valuables under the bed, while an expert cat burglar waits outside.

This is why breaches involving stolen passwords are so common and the most difficult to detect and contain. The intruder doesn’t need to break a window to gain access, they already have your keys. According to the 2024 Data Breach Investigations Report, 14% of all cyberattacks rely on stolen passwords and in the IBM’s Cost of a Data Breach Report 2024, these breaches on average take around 292 days to resolve – ouch!

Much like getting those valuables out from under the mattress, depending on the valuable, it’s often simpler and safer to entrust them to someone who keeps valuables secure for a living. When it comes to family heirlooms, rare collectibles and important documents, many rely on a bank safety deposit box because compared to the average home, the multiple layers of security makes it almost impossible to access for the average burglar.

By using a password manager, you no longer have to worry about many of the common issues that may leave your valuables exposed —just like using a safety deposit box:

• Create complex and unique passwords: By using a password manager, you will always have a complex and unique password for each account to minimise the risk of one breach impacting all of your accounts. The University of Melbourne offers access to the LastPass password manager to help you stay on top of all your passwords.
• Add an extra layer of security: Many banks require two forms of ID to access a safety deposit box, providing an extra layer of security. For your passwords, multi-factor authentication (MFA) works the same way. Even if someone has your password, they won’t be able to access your account without that second form of verification, like an authentication app.
• Watch out for signs of compromise: If your safety deposit box looks like it had been tampered with, you’d replace it straight away. The same is true for passwords: as soon as you have reason to believe it may have been compromised, change it! You can check if your credentials have been compromised in a public breach via the following website: https://haveibeenpwned.com/