Interior Minister Herbert Reul launched the state-wide prevention and publicity campaign "Make your password strong" on Monday (October 26). Under the leadership of the North Rhine-Westphalian State Office of Criminal Investigation in cooperation with the NRW Consumer Advice Center, the Federal Association of the Consumer Initiative e.V., the eco Association of the Internet Industry and the district police authorities in the state, the Minister is campaigning for more security on the Internet. The aim is to raise people's awareness and increase security on the Internet. "Nobody would leave their front door open at night. So why don't we lock our data doors?" said the minister.
Cybercrime offenses cause millions in damage every year. Last year alone, the LKA put the damage caused by cybercrime at around 18.7 million euros, whereby only the areas of computer fraud and software piracy can be depicted here (source: Cybercrime situation picture NRW 2019). "We should all educate ourselves to make it as difficult as possible for cyber criminals. A poorly chosen password is like presenting your personal data on a silver platter," warned Reul.
"The NRW consumer advice center is also receiving an increasing number of inquiries because personal data has been tapped and used to plunder bank accounts or go on online shopping trips on someone else's account," reported Wolfgang Schuldzinski, CEO of the NRW consumer advice center. "Together with the district police authorities, the advice centers of the NRW consumer advice center are working hard to keep hackers at bay. Whether with lectures, information events, telephone campaigns or activities on social media - we will be out and about on many channels in the coming weeks to show citizens in a very practical way how data theft and misuse can be put a stop to with a secure password," Schuldzinski announced.
The deputy head of the State Office of Criminal Investigation, Thomas Jungbluth, emphasized that data protection starts with each user themselves: "Strong passwords make life difficult for cyber criminals. This is exactly where our campaign comes in," said the Deputy Director of Criminal Investigation. "With the simple method presented today, anyone can create such complex passwords that are also easy to memorize," explained Jungbluth and also gave an example: N-Wh17.93ME - Nordrhein-Westfalen hat 17.93 M million Einhabitants.
N-Wh17.93ME - Nordrhein-Westfalen hat 17.93 M million Einhabitants.
In the coming months, the cooperation partners plan to present the topic to people on numerous channels and platforms, but also with classic public relations work on site. For example, the minister has launched a dedicated homepage (www.mach-dein-passwort-stark.de). This is followed by joint prevention activities for citizens, such as consultation hours, information stands and specialist lectures as well as "digital regulars' tables" for senior citizens.
