Shutting access to passwords
Shutting access to passwords
Mobile devices free us from being tied to an office computer when accessing personal information: web logins, passwords, PINs, account numbers, etc. Imagine a mobile device falling into the wrong hands – resulting in the draining of bank accounts co-opting of identities.
A lost or stolen phone constitutes a serious security threat because the attacker has unlimited time to gain access to its data. Therefore, important personal information should not be stored in any unsecured application.Instead, critical data should be stored in a digital wallet or password manager with strong encryption – such as 256-bit Blowfish – to keep these assets safe, secure and accessible.
Front-door attacks occur when a hacker continually attempts to guess a password. A good password manager closes this front door with a self-destruct feature that can wipe data after a number of password-entry attempts. Further, an auto-lock feature will automatically lock the application in instances where users set the device down for a moment and it disappears.Alternatively, backdoor attacks occur when a hacker has cracked the device and can access the password manager's database. Here too, a strong password manager will help as it will encrypt personal data with a strong algorithm, and never store the password itself on the device. Assuming a strong password is used, this approach would take years for even a super computer to try every possible combination.
Finally, transmission attacks take place when data is captured during broadcast, such as during data sync activity. A solid password manager will have a sync architecture that encrypts the data with a separate, strong password before it is transmitted or stored on a cloud server.
A password manager should serve as an impenetrable lock to block front or backdoor access to your most sensitive data.
