Insights
Insights
Passwords are the main form of credential verification. After all, when you create an account, you create a password. But passwords are very much under scrutiny nowadays. They are very prone to attack, and once a password is leaked, it can become a security risk for your whole business.
With a growing risk of cyber attacks and passwords slowly being sidelined for more secure credential verification methods, passwords are becoming increasingly obsolete. However, with many companies still relying on passwords, knowing exactly how to keep them safe and secure to avoid any issues is vital.
In this article, we’ll answer five of the most common security password questions to ensure that you’re aware of exactly what you need to do to protect your passwords from breaches and that your organisation can take swift action in an emergency.
Many people resort to the one built into their browser when saving or creating passwords. After all, it’s simple, free to use, and easily accessible from any device. However, browser-based password managers aren’t your safest bet; they’re riddled with concerning security flaws.
Browser-based password managers rely entirely on your browser’s security. Attackers don’t need access to your account. If you click on a dangerous link, your information is instantly wide open for cybercriminals to steal.
Alongside this, not all browser-based password managers encrypt your passwords. The ones that do only offer a small level of encryption, which is like locking up your house and then leaving the key in the door — making it incredibly easy for thieves to bypass and break in.
Because of this, it’s vital to use a password manager that is not browser-based but one that is based within your browser.
Whether your business should use password managers is vital. After all, password managers are often touted as the best way to protect your passwords. But should you use them?
Any organisation will benefit from using password managers. They are highly secure and have many security features—encryption and multi-factor authentication are the headlines here.
One of the most valuable features of a password manager is only needing to remember your ‘master password’. You only have to remember the password to the manager; it handles everything else from there and lets you access your other passwords safely and quickly.
You can also guarantee that your employees are following safe security practices. As their ‘master password’ is all they need, employees will be less likely to reuse or create ‘simple’ passwords or store them in a non-secure place.
Knowing how often to update passwords is vital to staying secure. The answer is simple: While it’s recommended to update passwords regularly if your business follows safe security practices, you only need to update if the account is compromised.
However, if an employee admits to reusing their passwords on other accounts or if one account becomes compromised, every account with the same password needs to be changed. In addition, they need to be educated on safe password practices.
The easiest way to create a complex password is to use an online generator. Many password managers have installed a complex password creator, instantly saving the password to your vault. However, there are also plenty of websites where you can create your perfect password.
If you’re using a password manager, there is no reason to remember your complex password, as it will already be saved in your vault for later use. We recommend checking the new account details, such as username and password, once saved to ensure they are correct.
Generally, there’s no reason to share a password with anyone. However, many password managers have a secure sharing feature, such as employees sharing a single-person company account, if you need to share passwords. This allows you to monitor who can access which credentials and when.
Otherwise, the most secure way to share a password is to use end-to-end encryption. Whether you’re using a chat or sending a file containing the password, ensuring your method is entirely encrypted guarantees your password is safe from cyber criminals trying to access it.
It’s typically relatively easy to know when you’ve been compromised. Generally, you’ll get notifications about suspicious activity, logins, and password changes. However, when hackers access your accounts, your password comes first.
Knowing when your passwords have been leaked or compromised can be difficult. There are many ways your password could have been exposed, and luckily, there are many tools to help you monitor its security.
Some tools monitor the dark web, scouring many hard-to-reach places for your information. Websites such as haveibeenpwned.com locate your passwords in significant data breaches, and some password managers have security notifications built in.
These tools are vital to monitoring your security and information online. Knowing exactly when and where you’ve been compromised allows you to update your information before cybercriminals can access it.
Passwords are critical to consider. While they’re slowly becoming a thing of the past, many organisations still use them, so knowing the best ways to protect your passwords is vital to staying secure.
These five questions are some of the most common regarding password security, and the answers will protect your business.
If you’re looking to get started with password security, contact us now. Our experts are here to help and will ensure you have everything you need to secure your organisation.
Get in touch with us now and see how we can help.