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There are several things that a network manager within an organisation can do to limit the possibility of personal data being accessed by hacker:

• ensure users have access only to the data they require for their role in the organisation
• ensure all users to use secure passwords
• encryptdata that is transmitted over a network

User access levels

Access levels determine which facilities a user can access, such as:

• software
• email
• internet
• documents and data
• the ability to install and/or remove software
• the ability to maintain other users' accounts

A network manager should restrict most users, allowing access to only the facilities they need. For example, an office worker might need access to productivity software, email and the internet, but not to install software or access other users' accounts.

Secure passwords

The purpose of a password is to verify who a user is. Without knowing the password, you cannot use a user ID to sign into a network.

Unfortunately, many people have user IDs and passwords for so many different websites and technology that they cannot remember them easily. Because of this they choose simple, easy-to-remember passwords or use the same password for many situations. These are known as ‘weak’ passwords and are easy to guess or hack. A ‘strong’ password is much more difficult to hack, but can be difficult to remember.

Having a strong password reduces the chances of someone easily working it out. For example:

“c0Mput!ng” is harder to guess than “computing”

Additionally, the longer the password, the harder it is to work out:

“c0Mput3r$c!encE” is harder to guess than “computing”