Welcome to the second week of Cybersecurity Awareness Month. This week, we discuss the importance of making use of a unique password for each of your online accounts. 

Be sure to avoid using the same password across websites. If one of those sites are compromised, hackers will try that password on other sites. No matter the account, all passwords should follow these preparation steps: ​

• The more characters you use, the better (at least 12 characters).
• Never reuse passwords. Each account needs its own unique password.
• Use a combination of upper- and lowercase letters, numbers and special characters. Some websites will even let you include spaces.​
• Use a random password generator paired with a password manager for extra security​.

Thank you for being the key ingredient in our recipe for cybersecurity success.

Please contact the ITS helpdesk ([email protected] or https://upsmax.up.ac.za) to let us know if you suspect that your accounts have been compromised. Our security team can help you through some more actions to secure your account. Be cautious of hacking attempts. 

Please visit UP’s Cybersecurity website at https://www.up.ac.za/itsecurity for more advice on passwords – your key to cybersecurity.