Passwords: Your best friend when it comes to security

Passwords should be your best friend when it comes to security and protecting your business. We know, you’ve heard it a thousand times, but are you implementing secure and diverse passwords in your day-to-day policies? It can be hard and inconvenient to create and store all these passwords, but in the end, this preventative measure can save you money and time.

It can happen to anyone. A hacker can easily access personal details about your life: your child’s name, your significant other’s name, important dates, etc. that people commonly use as passwords. Once they figure out these personal details, it’s easy to guess passwords, because they often include these personal details. Even more shocking, the most common password is still  “password.” People are creatures of habit and typically use the same password multiple times. So once a hacker has just a little bit of info, they can gain access to an unlimited amount of data. No one is immune to this sort of attack.

Passwords should be at least eight characters long and use a range of characters (numbers, symbols, letters). Some tools can help you manage passwords, and that will even create secure passwords for you. That way you don’t have to worry about writing passwords on sticky notes or forgetting them. If it generates passwords for you, then you can be assured they are diverse and complex.  You can also use passphrases, up to 160 characters which make it slightly easier to remember and even more secure.

Not only should you use different passwords for every account and make them complicated, but you should also change your passwords at least every 30 days. If you are feeling especially proactive, every 14 days would be ideal, but we know not everyone has the time to do so. It may sound like an inconvenience and a waste of time, but just consider how much time and money could be at risk if a hacker were to infiltrate your networks because they could figure out a simple password?

As we just finished discussing mobile security, it is equally important to implement these password policies on mobile devices as well. Often mobile devices don’t even have a password on them, making them easy to infiltrate. Password management should be a top priority for your employees and your business, ranging from all devices and platforms. It is an easy, preventative and smart tool to increase security.