Nothing’s more annoying than the University denying me access to myLSU because it’s been six months and they’re nagging me to change my password. That being said, it’d be tragic if my account were hacked.
Although North Korea denies hacking Sony Corporation last month, at this point there shouldn’t be a doubt in your mind that they were taking out their frustration with Sony over the film “The Interview”.
North Korea not only threatened the lives of anyone who planned on seeing the movie — they exposed celebrities and ruined many people’s careers. While it’s all kicks and giggles for us to see the leaked emails trash-talking celebrities, it can’t be fun on the other end.
Although the chances of a professional hacker tapping into your personal computer is slim to none, it is more feasible for someone to gain access to your bank and medical information if you don’t take precaution. This is important to University students specifically because college students are five times more likely to be victims of identity theft.
You’re probably thinking, “Why would anyone target my bank account when there are people in this world who have accounts with way more money than I’ll probably ever have?”
However, an attack on smaller accounts could eventually lead to a larger, more invasive attack. Someone could possibly get your Social Security number, credit card information, home address, phone number or even your current location.
We need passwords for virtually everything now: our phones, laptops, tablets, smart watches, emails, bank accounts and much more. To prevent having personal information violated, we need to protect our accounts by making sure all of our passwords are secure.
Making your password the name of your pet turtle that’s showcased all over your Instagram probably isn’t the best idea. You want your password to be so difficult that you never seem to remember it, and you always find yourself clicking “forgot my password.”
As much as a burden as this is, you should be thankful that myLSU annoys you into changing your password every six months. They not only force you to update your password — they make sure you choose a secure one. Not having a good password is just as ineffective as not having one at all.
Wouldn’t you feel violated if someone saw all of your grades? Would you also be uncomfortable if someone was able to follow you around campus because they had access to your schedule? However unlikely, this could happen.
It’s certainly not on the same level as North Korea hacking a major company, but it is still something you wouldn’t want to happen to you. We need to act like the responsible adults we are and start caring that someone could possibly gain access to almost all of our important accounts. Creating a smart password can easily prevent that.
Clarke Perkins is a 19-year-old political science freshman from New Orleans. You can reach her on Twitter @ClarkePerkins