Online Banking Security Enhancements Part 2

Last time we talked about creating a User ID the first time we login to online banking on or after October 8^th of this year.  Using a User ID that is not the member number adds a layer of security when using online banking should your member number inadvertently get in the wrong hands.  Our number one goal is to keep all our members’ personal and financial information safe and secure.

The second step in navigating our security upgrade on or after October 8, 2013, we will check your password to make sure it is “strong” enough.  (You will only be asked to create a new one if your current password doesn’t meet the requirements Ill outline in a  minute) When we talk about “strong” passwords we mean we want them to be hard to guess by someone else.   The challenge with passwords is we want them to be easy to remember for ourselves but hard to guess for anyone else.  The new password requirements are:

·         Minimum length is six characters and maximum is 32 characters

·         Must be composed of two out of these three: letters, numbers and symbols

·         Cannot contain part of username

·         Cannot contain any spaces

·         Is case sensitive  

Creating a “strong” password that is easy to remember doesn’t have to be difficult.  Here are some recommendations from Microsoft:

·         Create an acronym from an easy-to-remember piece of information. For example, pick a phrase that is meaningful to you, such as My son's birthday is 12 December, 2004. Using that phrase as your guide, you might use Msbi12/Dec,4 for your password.

·         Substitute numbers, symbols, and misspellings for letters or words in an easy-to-remember phrase. For example, My son's birthday is 12 December, 2004 could become Mi$un'sBrthd8iz12124.

·         Relate your password to a favorite hobby or sport. For example, I love to play badminton could become ILuv2PlayB@dm1nt()n.

 Ok so Microsoft’s recommendations are a little bit complex but they make some very good recommendations.  I like to substitute symbols for letters and put words and numbers together.  For instance:

K!ngj@mes=06  or !sOtopes#rULe  or !lOve.Co@Ch

You could use passwords that relate to you favorite sports team or your favorite clothes designer.  One note of caution is to not make passwords too obvious – if everyone knows you are a hardcore Cowboys fan (or Broncos fan!) and you live and breathe football the bad guys may also know that about you and have a head start on trying to guess your password.

One other tip- if you need to write down your password, make sure that you don’t label it as your password.

It’s best to resist using the same password for all your online accounts.  I realize that it’s hard to have a separate password for each online login.  If you feel like you must do this, make up several passwords and spread them around your different online logins.  The reason we recommend this is if one of your online accounts get compromised, you don’t want the bad guys to know your credentials to all your online accounts you might have.

Hopefully we provided some tips on creating strong password that will help keep your online banking safe and secure.  In closing let me offer one last reminder –

Kirtland Federal Credit Union will NEVER ask you for your user ID or password.  If someone is asking for these don’t give them out!  If you have any doubts or concerns about any request you might get in email or over the phone, please come in or call us.

Next time well talk about social engineering which is one of the tools bad guys use to try to steal your identity.

Your Wingman.  GW