Password Attacks Now Leading Cause of Ransomware: Strengthen Your Login Security Today

Email attacks targeting user credentials became the number one way ransomware gets into systems last year, overtaking software exploits.

This means criminals are having more success stealing or guessing passwords than breaking through software vulnerabilities. Even more concerning, multifactor authentication was deployed in 97% of the credential based attacks but still failed to prevent the compromise. This affects anyone with online accounts, which means virtually every family. Email accounts, online banking, social media, work systems, and school portals are all potential targets. Criminals send phishing emails designed to trick you into revealing your password or clicking malicious links. Once they have access to one account, they can often break into others, especially if you reuse passwords. The finding that multifactor authentication was present but failed in 97% of cases shows that criminals have found ways around this protection, though it still provides an important security layer.

Take these steps immediately to protect your accounts:

1. Review your email inbox and spam folder for suspicious messages asking you to click links or verify account information. Delete these without clicking.
2. Change passwords on your most important accounts, especially email, banking, and any account connected to payment methods. Use long, unique passwords for each account.
3. Enable multifactor authentication on every account that offers it, even though it is not foolproof. Use an authenticator app rather than text messages when possible.
4. Check your email account settings for suspicious forwarding rules or unfamiliar devices that have accessed your account.
5. Educate everyone in your household, especially children and elderly family members, never to click links in unexpected emails, even if they appear to come from known companies. Build lasting security habits by using a password manager to create and store unique passwords for every account. Treat your email account as your most critical account because it can be used to reset passwords on other services. Be suspicious of urgent messages pressuring you to act quickly, as this is a common criminal tactic. Regularly review account activity and connected devices on your important accounts. Talk to your family about these threats openly so everyone understands that clicking the wrong link can have serious consequences for the whole household.