While most employees would adamantly agree that following password best practices is of the utmost importance for businesses, very few actually put these principles into practice.
- 62% of employees say they keep their work login credentials in a notebook or a journal, which leaves them vulnerable to prying eyes.
- 88% of successful Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) attacks were against passwords of 12 characters or less.
- 80% of data breaches are linked to stolen or weak passwords.
Are these statistics motivating you to change your own approach to password security? Let’s go over some password best practices that all employees should be following in order to protect their organization.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
With MFA, a user needs more than just one piece of identifying information to get into an account, such as a fingerprint or voice recognition. This adds an extra layer of security and makes it that much more difficult for hackers to access sensitive information.
Don’t Share Passwords
It’s never a good idea for employees to share passwords with each other, no matter how secure your internal processes may be. This can lead to disastrous results if the wrong person gets their hands on the information or if one employee’s account is compromised. So, don’t share passwords!
Use a Password Manager
Password best practices are made possible with a trustworthy password manager. Password managers are great tools for businesses because they store all of your login credentials in one secure database. You can keep track of multiple complex passwords while ensuring they remain secure.
Create Complex Passwords
It’s important to create complex and unique passwords that are different for all of your accounts. This means using a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols whenever possible. The more random the password is, the harder it will be to crack.
Never Write Down Passwords
Writing down passwords is a big no-no when it comes to cybersecurity best practices. While it may be convenient to have a physical copy of your credentials, this leaves them open to whoever happens to walk by your desk. So, as tempting as it might be, don’t write down passwords—instead, use a password manager for secure storage.
Change Passwords Regularly
Don’t wait until there’s been a breach to quickly change your passwords! Proactively changing your passwords every few months is a simple but effective method for keeping data safe.
Trust the Experts: Fresh Managed IT Is Your Password Partner
It’s clear that smart password security is essential for businesses in today’s digital world. By following these similar password best practices, you can effectively protect your organization from any potential threats.
But if you’re still unsure of what to do, it’s best to partner with Fresh Managed IT for all of your cybersecurity needs. We specialize in everything from proactive password protection to intrusion detection and cloud security so that you don’t have to worry about the cybersecurity threats to your business.
Contact us today for more information on how we can help keep your organization safe!
