If you’re reading this, you have a holiday to add to your calendar: Change Your Password Day, which is celebrated annually on February 1. Now, most of our transactions occur online; thus, our personal and confidential information is liable to be hacked. This makes it important to keep our online data safe by changing our passwords. Do you know that the average American’s fear is getting hacked?
History of Change Your Password Day
Imagine waking up to realize that your bank account has been hacked, or your online store card has been cloned and your payments intercepted. That sure sends shivers.
With the increase in online transactions and activities, hacking seems to be a booming business. This called for awareness about personal cybersecurity and the need to change one’s password regularly.
This was recognized by Matt Buchanan, who had gotten hacked twice and felt it would be good for a day to be set to remind everyone to change their passwords. Change Your Password Day was first celebrated in 2012.
Research proves that one is responsible for the cyberattacks they face, as many hackers admit that many online users have poor security and are easily hackable. This is because we form simple, easy-to-remember passwords and use them for all our internet accounts. These passwords are easy to guess, making us susceptible to hack attacks.
Getting hacked on a personal scale might not affect us much. But it is a deathly blow to companies as they experience heavy losses and may crumble under it. Stock prices of such companies will fall if they are hacked.
Yahoo is an example of a large company that got hacked. Many other organizations have reported system breaches and record theft. This is even harder for smaller businesses that are easy prey to hacks. The rate of hacking has reportedly increased since the Covid-19 pandemic and will continually remain a threat to online technology unless users take precautionary measures to avoid it.
Change Your Password Day timeline
M.I.T. creates a password to allow many people to share the same computer.
John Draper finds a way to make free phone calls.
A new secure method is introduced.
Matt Buchanan establishes the holiday.
Change Your Password Day FAQs
When is World Password Day?
World Password Day is celebrated on the first Thursday in May.
How do I avoid forgetting my passwords?
You can make use of password managers. These free and secure apps help generate your passwords whenever you need them.
How do I keep my online data safe?
Change your passwords regularly. Use the Two Factor Authentication, where possible. Ensure you use passwords with different symbol combinations.
How to Observe Change Your Password Day
Change your password
This is the main reason for the Day. Avoid using passwords that have personal information like your name and date of birth. Instead, use a mix of alphabets, numbers, and symbols.
Create awareness
You will be doing the world good by letting others know about the holiday. Share on your social media and encourage others to be cyber-safe.
Use different passwords
Do not use the same password for all of your online accounts. You can lose all your cyber activity as they can all be hacked. Use different passwords for each account.
5 Important Facts About Hacking
39 seconds flat
There is a hacking attack every 39 seconds.
75 records per second
75 records get stolen every second.
The hacker hats
There are three colors of hacker hats representing different types of hackers: black, grey, and white.
Weak 'n' hackable
86% of online passwords are not secure.
Billions of records have been stolen
The number of data records stolen is over 14 billion.
Why Change Your Password Day is Important
We live online
Most of our activities and transactions are online. Therefore, we need to learn to change our passwords to avoid losses.
We are safe
We do not need to worry about getting hacked and harmed. Celebrating the holiday helps us to maintain cyber security.
We reduce crime
Being susceptible to getting hacked is making crime easier to commit. We reduce crime when we wise up and frustrate the efforts of unscrupulous hackers.
Change Your Password Day dates
| Year | Date | Day |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | February 1 | Sunday |
| 2027 | February 1 | Monday |
| 2028 | February 1 | Tuesday |
| 2029 | February 1 | Thursday |
| 2030 | February 1 | Friday |
