Cyber security
Cyber security is important because our devices and the internet are now such an important part of our day to day lives. With instant access to emails, shopping, social media, and online banking, it is more important than ever to make sure we take steps to prevent cyber criminals from accessing personal and commercially sensitive information.
We want to encourage you to take similar steps with your own personal devices and information, so we have developed the following guidance that will work at home as well as in a business environment.
Making a strong password
Current national guidance is to use 3 random words or alternatively use a passphrase. Your passwords should be made up of both upper and lower case letters, alpha and numeric characters and digits and punctuation e.g. @ : } { ) ( " ! ?
The use of a password based on a single dictionary word is no longer advised, nor is simply adding numbers or symbols such as 1’s and 0’s or a ‘!’.
Some examples of strong passwords based on three random words include:
- SouthLakeHeat becomes $0uthLak3H3@t
- BeerChocolateDoor becomes B33rCh0co1ateD00r
- ParkWindowBottle becomes "ParkWindowB0ttl3"
- KiteAppleRemote becomes !K1t3Appl3R3m0t3!
- CarBinMonth becomes CaRB!nM0ntH$1
Examples of strong passwords based on a phrase include:
- Prefer2Lie becomes (Pr3f3R2L!E$)
- ILikeCocaCola becomes (1Lik3Coc@c07A)
- CatsAlwaysSleep becomes (C@t$a7wAyzSl3ep)
For further guidance please visit the National Cyber Security Centre’s Cyber Aware site.
Page updated:
02/03/2023