Every few years, at Moneyworks we do a digital security project with our clients, to make sure that they are taking their password protection seriously. Our last project was encouraging our clients to make sure that they had more complicated passwords (using symbols where possible) and to turn on Two (or Multi) Factor Authentication.
As more of our life becomes driven by apps and digital systems, it is becoming more and more important to have strong cyber hygiene.
One method of doing this is to use a Password Manager like Last Pass or 1 Password. While they can be quite a pain to get set up, they do provide extra security, even though Last Pass has recently announced that their security has been breached. However, it appears that the master password used is encrypted (and your password should be quite complicated, like a phrase with lots of caps, numbers, letters and special characters), if you have used Last Pass, it is strongly recommended that you change your passwords.
2FA (or 2 Factor Authentication or Multi Factor Authentication) can be a pain, (particularly when the app decides not to work temporarily) but it can be a strong financial protector for your wealth.
2FA (for short) enables you to set up a second check when you log in. New Zealand banks use this, and a number of other sites linked to financial arrangements have this system available. Once you have it set up with an Authenticator app on your phone or your computer, it just adds an extra step to your processes. While you may get frustrated about the interference into your productivity, our goal is to help you to protect your wealth, and this is a good way to do thi
There are specific authenticator apps that you can use and programme the site to talk to – it doesn’t have to be with your phone and some banking systems have cards (where you have to concentrate to find the write letter in a grid), or tokens where the code is regularly changing.
This is just a reminder that your digital security is a vital part of your wealth management, and if you have been procrastinating about getting it set up – with robust passwords, the new year is the time for you to do it…..
PS – most of the time people who are wanting to break into your computer and financial systems are online – please don’t save your passwords in an un password locked file on your computer – use a good old fashioned notebook (I use an indexed one) that you hide away in your home. That way you can remember more and different passwords, but that still isn’t as good as turning on your 2FA systems.
