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It doesn’t matter where you go, there they are – passwords. Almost all systems and sites you visit online will need a password in order to access them, whether that’s work, or personal related.
Passwords provide the first line of defence against anyone unauthorised to access that information, preventing hackers from stealing confidential information.
How many different passwords do you have?
Passwords can be frustrating and often you end up locking yourself out of your own account because you can’t remember your password. As a result of this, you may just have one easy memorable word that you use for every password, so you don’t forget when you need to log in.
Around 53% of people rely on their memory to manage passwords.
Having simple passwords puts your account at risk
Having a simple password makes it incredibly easy for hackers to access your accounts, especially if you use the same password for multiple sites. This could lead to a data breach and cost your business around £25,000
So, how do you make sure your passwords are secure enough to keep your business safe?
Make the password a reasonable length </p >
A password should be at least 12 characters long, although they should ideally be 16 characters long – the longer the password, the more challenging it is for a cyber-criminal to hack.
What should a password contain?</p >
A password should contain a combination for the following:
- Upper and lowercase characters
- A mixture of letters and numbers
- Include at least one special character e.g. !?*%$#
This is because, again, it makes is more difficult for a criminal to hack and decrypt the password as it is more complex.
Change passwords regularly</p >
You should update all your passwords once every six months in order to prevent your accounts from becoming compromised by a cyber-criminal.
Never save passwords to a web browser</p >
If a hacker takes control of your computer remotely over the internet, via malware, they will have access to your online accounts if passwords are stored in the browser.
You may be thinking ‘how am I supposed to remember my passwords?’
The answer is solved by having a Password Manager.
This is a program that allows you to store, generate, and manage your passwords for all your everyday account logins, e.g., from your Amazon to your email.
Overall a password manager assists in generating and retrieving complex passwords (so you don’t have to remember them), storing them in an encrypted database and automatically filling login details on-demand, when you need them.
If you would like to know more information about a password manager please get in touch, we would love to help you, call us on 01273 806211 or email [email protected].
Alternately, if a cyber-attack is troubling you check out our Cyber Security service here.
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