The prevention campaign "Make your password strong!" was launched at the end of October 2020 by the NRW State Office of Criminal Investigation on behalf of the Ministry of the Interior.
The background to the campaign is an attack by unknown hackers at the end of 2018, in which sensitive data of politicians and celebrities was published, which the perpetrators had previously obtained via digital end devices. In the doxing phenomenon (internet-based collection and publication of personal data), perpetrators use weak password selection in conjunction with strategies of interpersonal influence. The aim is to induce certain behaviors in users in order to obtain personal data.
The aim of the campaign is to make citizens aware of the need to choose a strong password in the networks they use in order to minimize the risk of becoming a victim of a so-called "cyber attack".
The crime prevention and victim protection department of the Hagen police, together with the Hagen consumer advice center, is offering a telephone consultation on this topic.
The joint telephone consultation hours will take place on Wednesdays from 10-12 a.m. on the following dates: 16.12.2020, 20.01.2021, 09.02.2021, 17.02.2021, 10.03.2021.
You can reach the Verbraucherzentrale NRW e. V. - Beratungsstelle Hagen at these times by calling 02331 - 69 733 75.
You can reach the Criminal Investigation Department for Crime Prevention and Victim Protection at the same time on 02331 - 986 1530.
For more information on the topic, please here.