Experts have warned that hackers can comfortably crack questions used as security checks in webmails. Security researchers at the University of Cambridge, insists that attackers can break into at least 1 in every 80 accounts if they get three chances to guess answers.
They recommends webmail firms to replace simple answers with more complex tests to confirm a person's identity. The researchers claim that hackers are successful in getting answers to security-check questions correct every 80 accounts, as information people use as answers are often publicly accessible, such as US marriage and birth records which were viewable online for a long time.
They measured how hard it was to guess answers. Asking what was the name of someone's first grade teacher seems like a secure choice. The problem is that there's a tonne of teachers out there named Mrs Smith."
They warns that cyber criminals maintain a long lists of e-mail addresses to attack. Webmail was never really designed for mail security but it is taking on a pretty important security role. Once you have an e-mail account you can take over a lot of other things with it. However, the researchers believe Webmail firms can tighten their security.
Websites such as Google, are already sending reset passwords by text message in a bid to protect the account of its users.
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