30-04-2025
'Everyone is vulnerable': Cybersecurity 'hygiene' tips for World Password Day
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With online security lapses costing Canadians hundreds of millions of dollars every year, people are warned to protect themselves from cybercriminals as they become more nefarious amid continually evolving technology.
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As World Password Day lands on May 1 this year, Postmedia spoke with experts about the importance of good cybersecurity and password practices.
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'Cybercriminals are using generative AI to launch hyper-targeted phishing campaigns and brute-force attacks that are more convincing and more dangerous than ever,' said Zelvin.
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In Canada, fraud and cybercrime cost victims more than $638 million in 2024, an increase from $578 million the year prior according to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre.
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'I haven't seen any Hallmark cards that say happy World Password Day,' said Tom Keenan, a cybersecurity expert and professor at the University of Calgary's School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape.
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Most people frown when they see the word 'password,' he says.
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'They remember the time they forgot their password, or the time they wrote it down somewhere underneath their keyboard and somebody hacked them,' said Keenan.
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Said Zelvin: 'Everybody hates passwords, so do I … I lose my mind, because they're just everywhere.'
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However, passwords are becoming a bigger issue for cybersecurity and fraud, as bad actors look to nab the keys to people's lives.
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'Why hack in when you can log in?' Zelvin posed. '(Hackers) don't have to install malware … the detection is a lot harder, because it looks like you.'
