Researchers confirm Stratfor's weak password protection
Although technology experts often treat the allegations made by Anonymous with a certain amount of skepticism, there is reason to believe at least some of the hackers' assertions regarding their Christmas weekend attack on security intelligence firm Stratfor.
According to PCWorld, online security researchers from Utah Valley University are currently hard at work trying to decode thousands of encrypted passwords released by Anonymous in its latest data breach. Although it may sound like a dubious practice, the process has already revealed a number of important insights that may help companies inform future password manager strategies.
Utilizing several applications commonly seen in the international cybercriminal community, university researchers have already been able to crack more than 160,000 passwords included in the Anonymous release. Officials told the news source that some of the accounts were even traced back to Marine Corps members who "should know better" than to deploy weak passwords.
According to MSNBC, online security experts associated with the Tech Herald have used similar password cracking tools to shed light on questionable password protection habits. Researchers have discovered that some of the accounts were guarded by simple combinations including "12345stratfor" and "administration."
