To this aim, Upadhyay said he and Grosse have been working with the FIDO Allance, an industry group that was formed last summer to address the problems caused by the current system of password authentication.

FORBES: Google Reveals Details About Its Plan To Fix Password Security

So a user simply has to chose a password and then the PGP system does all of the encryption and makes the file or the message secure.

NPR: The Math Behind Pellicano's Code

In December 2010, in an online forum used by Anonymous, Keys, under the username AESCracked, allegedly shared a username and password that he told them would allow them to access the content management system of Fox 40 and the Times.

FORBES: Justice Dept. Charges Reuters Employee Matthew Keys With Helping Anonymous Hack Tribune Co.

Totzke advises all smartphone users to enable a password, quickly download security updates from their phones operator system and carefully consider the source of any applications they download.

CNN: Smartphone security threats likely to rise

Millions of websites now employ social login, driven by the fact that the old site-specific registration and password system is no longer scalable.

FORBES: How Social Login Is Changing Business--and Your Privacy