The average person has 130 online accounts. Passwords are used to secure these online accounts.
Common bad password practices include:
- Storing passwords where they can be found: on Post-it notes, in Excel files, or written down on paper.
- Using the same password for every account.
- Using common passwords such as: “password,” “123456″ or “qwerty,” or using easy-to-guess passwords such as the names of children or dates of birth.
- Sharing passwords too liberally. Whether it be co-workers, friends, or a boss.
- Sending passwords over unsecured email.
Small businesses are a target for cyber-attacks, and weak passwords and poor password practices play a part in a large portion of these breaches. Small businesses are not taking the necessary security measures they need to protect themselves. According to recent statistics, 63% of data breaches were the result of a weak, default, or stolen password.
Best Password Practices
- Choose a strong, complex password that is at least 12 characters long with a combination of letters, numbers, upper/lower case characters, and special characters.
- Create a unique password for every account.
- Create a password that is unique but also easy to remember.
- Do not autosave passwords. This is risky if you share devices with others, and you are more likely to forget your password when you don’t have to type it often.
- Use a password manager for unparalleled security and reliability.
Unfortunately, doing all of the above is impractical which makes poor password security all too common!!
So how do you adopt all of the password best practices without compromising security?
Use a Password Manager as mentioned in the Best Password Practices. The Password Manager should allow you to centrally store, share and access personal and team passwords.
Please Contact Us so we can help you address one of businesses biggest security issue: poor password practices.
Contact Us to discuss the cyber security and password management needs of your business.