Improving Your Password Security with Heather Noggle

A new concept coined “cyber hygiene,” meaning users intentional interactions with online content according to  Executive Director of nonprofit Missouri Cybersecurity Center of Excellence Heather Noggle, is vital for all tech users. 

One of the biggest aspects of maintaining proper cyber hygiene using safe passwords. The current password recommendation is a length of 15 or more characters, the longer the better. “Make different passwords for everything,” Noggle says. 

Her next recommendation is to navigate multiple passwords and accounts by using a password manager. “For $50 annually, you can get a password manager at 1password.com,” she says. “These will generate passwords for you and your family, and you can use the password manager on multiple devices. It does the heavy lifting for you, and you just need to remember one very strong centralized passphrase.”

However, there’s more to it than that. “Passwords alone are not good enough,” she says. “A second important aspect of cybersecurity maturity is multi-factor authentication. Start with banking and email accounts, then expand to everywhere that it’s offered.” 

The rule of thumb? Treat passwords as the first line of defense, but not the only line. “That’s why multi-factor authentication is so important,” she says. “It’s what keeps you safe regarding authentication. If you don’t have it, passwords aren’t enough to keep you secure.”