(Photo : Reuters Connect)

A new study reveals why millions of people frequently become victims of cyber-attacks, and shows how it can be avoided, according to a recently published article.

Cyber-Attacks Amid the Pandemic in the United States 

Cyber-attacks and security breaches occurred in the United States even during the pandemic. In fact, the computer system of the U.S. Health and Human Services Department suffered a cyber-attack that led to the misinformation of millions of people according to a published news article in March. 

John Ullyot, the spokesman of the National Security Council, suspected that the cyber-attack was made by a foreign country but the federal government has not yet confirmed who it was according to a U.S. top official. 

Meanwhile, it was not the only incident of cyber-attack that happened during the stay-at-home order in the country. VMWare Carbon Black reported that there was a spike of security breaches in March and ransomware attacks surged to 148 percent in the same month. 

New Research Reveals the Vulnerability of Having One Password in all Online Accounts

A security breach or cyber-attack is very alarming because one's identity could be used in fraudulent activities without the permission of the owner. A person experiencing this may suffer a more complex problem. 

New research revealed from Carnegie Mellon University's CyLab found out that only one out of three persons changed their passwords from breached websites. This simply means that social media users rarely change their passwords after a website breach or cyber-attack. 

Additionally, it was also found out that only 13 percent of users with accounts on these websites changed their passwords within three months. This gives a longer time for hackers to use private information in fraudulent activities. 

The Danger of Having One Password on All Online Accounts, What Should You Do?

There is a big danger in having one password in all of your online accounts like social media, bank account, credit account, and more. If one of these will have security problems, then the hacker will use your username and password and will try to open your other online account without your knowledge. 

Lujo Bauer, CyLab faculty member and professor in the Electrical and Computer Engineering department at Carnegie Mellon and an author on the study, told a news outlet that one of the most effective ways to keep your account secured is not to reuse passwords.

In an email he sent to the news outlet, he wrote that to reuse or even just to slightly change the password in different accounts is a big risk. He also added that if one of the accounts of a person is stolen then the hacker can use it to log on to other sites. 

It is best recommended to have different passwords on different online accounts. To avoid confusion, a person must have password managers for him or her to easily remember the username and password in every account. 

This idea was also supported by the Chief Information Security Officer of LogMeIn, Geral Beuchelt. He said: "Some of the most common ways people are leaving themselves vulnerable online is by using weak, easy to crack passwords, and then re-using those same passwords on their other online accounts."

It is important to practice the habit of having to change the passwords from time to time most especially if the website suffered from a cyber-attack. Different passwords should also be applied to different online sites.