Passwords! A particularly unloved part of 21st century life. But like them or loathe them, we all need them and must use them effectively to help us negotiate the digital world. Until, of course, something better comes along.
But now the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) has said that using three random words, rather than a hotch-potch of symbols, is more secure. It says that this approach ‘keeps the bad guys out’ while being easy to remember.
The NCSC is a part of the UK’s GCHQ (Government Communication Headquarters), the organisation that has a mission to keep the UK safe. Experts at NCSC said a key reason for using three random words is they create a password which is easy to remember and strong enough to keep online accounts secure from cyber criminals. Using three random words to coin a password is more effective than traditional advice to create complex passwords, which can be difficult to remember and yet guessable for criminals.
There are other reasons for choosing the three random words approach ...