Companies 'should think about password security'

Businesses running a website need to think about password security for their users, an industry expert has suggested.

The advice has come after IT security and control firm Sophos warned members of the social media site Twitter last week to be aware of people taking personal information from them.

Companies with an online presence – perhaps a website hosted through a dedicated server – should enforce good passwords among its users and prevent people from running automated dictionaries, the company stated.

Graham Cluley is a senior technology consultant at Sophos. He had the following suggestion to help internet security.

"If you have five failed attempts to log in to an account within 30 seconds then why not block that account from being accessed at all for the next 15 minutes?"

According to a survey conducted by Accenture, many internet users underestimate the increasing threat from organised cyber criminals who are able to cash in from stolen identities.

Senior executive Robert Dyson for the company said if people have the same password for each website then once a hacker has broken into one, it is much easier for them to log onto other accounts.