Password security: Secure passwords may prevent damage to society, superficial passwords constitute a potential danger to economy and society

Superficial passwords may be abused by terrorists and criminals in many ways

As a result of my recent article on slow brute force server security a reader posted a comment on Digg: " ... I still dont really get why it is so important to have secure passwords for regular members ... ". That comment shows how little regular Internet users know about the media they use so frequently. To use Internet requires knowledge about Internet, else you exceed your limits and turn into a danger of society and economy.

In road traffic and car use, most countries require a driver license. Driver license exams typically includes knowledge and exam of safety rules, safety procedures, basic traffic behavior, traffic signs and many other aspects directly related to safe driving and accident prevention. In SCUBA diving we also have a basic education requirements set up by most major global Instructor associations such as PADI, etc. The purpose of a SCUBA certification prior to the use of SCUBA gear or participation in any SCUBA diving activity is simple a security argument. Without proper education no knowledge of safety procedures and basic standardized behavior in particular situations. Without proper SCUBA education we would have hundred thousands of most severe diving accidents every year. Just as we had many more most severe and many times fatal diving accidents during the early pioneer years of SCUBA diving in the 1950-ies.

Internet usage is little different. Wrong use or use of Internet without any knowledge may lead to danger to others, danger to property AND life. Just as in SCUBA diving all efforts for a standardized basic educational content came from within the diving industry for the simple reason to avoid governments and official authorities to get involved in this beautiful recreational activity. The efforts by the diving industry were mostly successful and as a result we enjoy a much safer diving industry as we had 50 years ago. Self regulation always is much better and much cheaper than any government implemented rules and new law!

On this planet we have a proven record of damaging behavior, superficial and irresponsible behavior and immoral/unethical practices in politics, business and life. As a result we are at a place no one really wanted to be. Yet we are exactly at the right place - a place where we no longer can damage God's creation. Our limits are strictly contained within tiny boundaries of our planet. Our planet is infinitely tiny compared to God's entire creation.

Cybercrime is serious damage and cybercrime always starts with the weakest members of a structure - with you!

The global annual damage done by cybercrime is in the Billions of US$. Besides direct financial damage, there also is an undefined damage that occurs as a result of cyber crime. Damage to society, damage to national security, damage to global peace.

To understand Internet security or the opposite, internet based crimes, you have to study the topic. Google and search in your excess time. Or just follow the rules setup by professional publishers and learn to strictly abide by those rules to contribute your share to global Internet security.

Typical Internet abuse by cyber criminals consists among others of ...

Use of simple sites to temporarily host virus infected software, uploaded images or graphic content or any kind of files containing damaging scripting language hidden inside such files. Such damaging scripting language then may either be abused to further damage the host system OR more often to be used to damage remote other systems by means of injection techniques.

On my own site I have many such abuse attempts logged every single day. A fact that shows how widespread such simple uploaded file abuse is across the entire planet.

Hence any offer to host or upload any kind of files always is a potential to be abused sooner or later by professional cyber criminals!

Additionally of course members allowed to post articles, comments or other text also may and do often abuse such opportunities for illegal content, spam or other damaging abuse.

Member sites of any kind may and are certainly used / abused as contact for terror organizations, contraband, spy and other criminal activities. Most sites allowing membership and posting of text content, audio, video or other graphical content have absolutely NO verification of identity or background of new members. Criminal organizations of any kind, from government intelligence to drug trafficking, terror or other criminal activities always need neutral temporary hosts or message exchange systems. Hence any content may be published and abused for only that purpose.

There are many more and other possibilities to abuse simple online services, including such popular services as myspace, facebook, social networks and forums, picture sharing, etc.

You as a regular "normal" Internet user, www surfer and forum member or hobby site owner are certainly by far the weakest member of the entire Internet structure. Hence you are typically the backdoor into any service you use on the world wide web!

True professional web publishers most likely do as I do, I spend hundreds of hours each and every year to learn and improve internet security of my own use of Internet as well as my own server configuration. That requires typically at least a few thousand US $ per year additional Internet security / server security related expenses. Either you have that time and money to be professional or you NEVER ever should have a web site and be publisher!!!

Hobby publishers are a danger to society and informal collaborators with terrorists and criminal organizations

How superficial hobby publishers / hobby site owners can be, may be seen from below quote I received as a result of an eMail sent to one of my disciples in India in recent weeks:

"... My website is attacked by the hackers. Now, all the latest content has been hijacked by the hackers. I'm finding no time to rectify this at the earliest as i'm fully busy with work+wife+baby. ..."

That shows how superficial and irresponsible hobby site owners can be. If you have no time to learn, to time to correct, no time to secure a site, no matter how tiny, then you are actively supporting cyber crimes, and even terrorist activities. Just a brief look at the very recent terrorist attack on Mumbay / India shows:

Such terrorist activities need deepest and most refined organization. To organize crimes needs even more and better structural resources than legal honest business need. Hence such terror attacks need multiple channels of communications, meeting points - including virtual meeting points, and much more. Hacked sites often are used to setup mail system mostly undetected by the site owner, or chat rooms - also undetected by site owner or host companies.

If you have NO time - as the above site owner stated - then you are irresponsible and have 2 choices only.

Take your time to learn and secure on your own - else you may be given time behind bars when your site may have been abused for such terror or criminal abuse.

OR

Shut down your site, delete all, close your account and wait until you are mature to do what you what to do the right way or just leave Internet publishing to professionals who TAKE or make the time needed.

Do what you do right and with all your heart, soul and body - or leave it !

Mankind are manipulated by their own habits

Password security is a very old topic, many years old already. Yet there still are countless internet users using simple names or simple words as password. Just out of habit. Such superficial lazy habits are what makes you a potential danger to all Internet and even to your own homeland security and to all economy! How would you love to have your own bank account or paypal or ebay or other accounts depleted ?

Your habit to use superficial easy to remember passwords and PIN codes may become so powerful that most or even ALL your password may be similar or same or at least of similar simplicity. Hence you use simple to remember passwords in online forums and social networks, you most likely have the very same dangerous habit in your bank passwords, paypal or ebay and all other passwords and ATM PIN numbers! To be superficial means to be lazy, to be irresponsible ... and eventually you may either assist criminals to abuse your own resources for their criminal activities by abusing your online forum and other memberships or to deplete your own financial accounts and eventually abuse that money to finance terror attacks or other crimes!

To be secure may be a habit and habits expand across all your life

Once you have acquired the habit of always creating long and secure passwords and for each site a new different password, you may have developed a secure habit for the protection of your own life as well as for the protection of all Internet community and all global society. Secure passwords as as long as possible - normally at least 12-20 characters long, always a wild and irregular mix of upper case / lower case alpha-numerical characters.

Example of a stronger secure password: 4SwSInBgOP94XaQ4Xn8H26V

Homeland security is only your sole responsibility

No government, no military, no police is responsible or liable for your own homeland security. Your country, this entire planet has been given to humans and never to organizations of any kind, size or purpose. Hence you as an individual human are responsible to finance your entire personal homeland security, to create your own secure environment and neighborhood. You are the one to strengthen your own economy and situation to become a responsible and strong member of God's entire creation - on earth as well as later at home.

Love and Bliss

hans