Online stockbrokers also use encryption - electronic scrambling to convert your personal account details into secret code which is then sent over the Internet. A hacker starting from scratch would need to try every possible combination, which is almost impossible. The system used is 128-bit encryption. Cracking this would mean looking for one combination out of 3.4 x 10 to the power of 38 - or 3 followed by 38 zeros. The worst security gap online is you.
Many people still use passwords that are obvious or easily guessable.
Your date of birth, name or partner's name just will not do. If a site asks you to create a password choose a combination of letters and numbers which is difficult to guess. Crest is the UK's relatively new electronic system for the settlement of share transactions. As an individual you can choose to open a Crest Personal Account. Your name stays on companies' share registers but the shares are held electronically to your brokers' order.