#passwords

Cybersecurity Awareness Month: Password Power

Posted on by Katrina Frank

Perp 1: dpxaker

Cybersecurity Awareness Month continues where we will share tips on how to make life difficult for cybercriminals. This week we will investigate real cybercriminal, Dariy Pankov.

Dariy Pankov

Alias: dpxaker
Weakness: Long, unique passwords

Dariy Pankov, known among hackers as “dpxaker,” paid for his lavish lifestyle by selling password-cracking software to criminals for just $250 – no subscription required. Powered by his program, hackers don’t have to sit in a dark room guessing passwords one at a time – dpxaker’s software and AI tests thousands of password combinations every second. He has a soft spot for pet names and birthdays and he really loves short passwords and reused passwords!

What You Can Do…

Make dpxaker’s life more difficult by creating strong password using the following guidelines:

  • Every password should be at least 16 characters long
  • Every password needs to be unique to the account
  • Every password should be a random mix of letters, numbers, and symbols
  • Use a password manager to create and store awesome passwords – they are safe, easy to
    use, and many are even free!

Remember…

An 8-character password can be cracked in seconds, no matter how many &s and !s you use. A complex 16-character password takes billions of years to crack – and hackers don’t have that kind of time

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Attributes: Portions of the written content from this blog was adapted from the Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026 Toolkit published by Stay Safe Online National Cybersecurity Alliance. All images were designed by the IS Digital Solutions Administrator, Katrina Naoko Frank.

Cybersecurity Month – Make Life Difficult for Cybercriminals

Posted on by Katrina Frank
cybercriminal failing to access a user's account after many attempts.

Here’s the Challenge, Do Accept It?

October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month and this month we’ll share tips on how to make life difficult for cybercriminals. Every week in October we will investigate real cybercriminals. While some of them have been arrested, more are following in their footsteps, and we want to give you tips to prevent them from striking again.

Alright, crew, we managed to scrape together the rap sheets on our three main players. They’ve left digital fingerprints all over the web. Here’s their files—study them and be prepared to make their lives difficult.

The Perps…

Dariy Pankov

Alias: dpxaker
Weakness: Long, unique passwords

Dariy Pankov, known among hackers as “dpxaker,” paid for his lavish lifestyle by selling password-cracking software to criminals for just $250 – no subscription required. Powered by his program, hackers don’t have to sit in a dark room guessing passwords one at a time – dpxaker’s software and AI tests thousands of password combinations every second. He has a soft spot for pet names and birthdays and he really loves short passwords and reused passwords!

Giant Company

Location: Myanmar
Strength: Large in numbers and excellent actors

Giant Company was one name for a massive scam operation targeting Americans. Almost 300 people were arrested in connection with the Giant Company, and 9 scam centers were disrupted as part of the crackdown. But Giant Company is a drop in an ocean of scams. Scammers and phishing attackers impersonate your bank, your boss, a delivery company, customer support, or even a family member.

Zestix

Government Identity: unknown
Weakness: multifactor authentication (MFA)

Zestix invaded more than 50 multinational companies because a few people never turned on MFA. And if some of the biggest companies in the world can go down, it would be very easy for Zestix to hijack any account if it’s solely protect with a password. After swooping up stolen passwords on the Dark Web, criminals can break into many accounts that don’t enable MFA. They can also get their hands on passwords lost in data breaches and spray them all over the internet with automated software.

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Attributes: Portions of the written content from this blog was adapted from the Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2026 Toolkit published by Stay Safe Online National Cybersecurity Alliance. All images were designed by the IS Digital Solutions Administrator, Katrina Naoko Frank.

Cybersecurity Tip: Password Power!

Posted on by Katrina Frank
an adorably illustrated Kalamazoo College knight serving as the password manager and a large shield representing strong passwords.

Strong Passwords and Password Manager

Don’t get tricked and instead treat the security of all of your accounts equally. No matter how unimportant you think your account may be, hackers find value in everything.

Tips and Tricks

Password Creation

  • Hackers don’t hack in, they log in. Protect your passwords by making them complex and unique to each website.
  • The wilder, the better! A long, complex password is your first line of defense against hackers.

Memorizing and Storing Passwords

  • Do you find yourself clicking “forgot your password” again? Let a password manager remember it for you! By storing your login info in a vault, you’ll never forget it.
  • Give your memory a break and store multiple passwords in one password manager. Doing so is more secure and strengthens your defenses.

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