Passwords are the main form of credential verification. After all, generally, when you make an account somewhere, you make a password for it. But, passwords are very much under scrutiny nowadays. They are very prone to attacking, 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 slowly becoming more and more obsolete. But, with lots of companies still relying on passwords — knowing exactly how to keep your passwords safe and secure to avoid any issues is vital.
In this article, we’re going to answer five of the most common security password questions, to make sure that you’re aware of exactly what you need to do to protect your passwords from breaches and make sure your organisation can take swift action in the event of an emergency.
Are browser-based password managers secure?
When saving or creating passwords, many people resort to the one built into their browser. 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 even 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 non-browser-based password manager rather than one that is based within your browser.
Should organisations use password managers?
The question of 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?
The truth is that any organisation will benefit from using password managers. Password managers are extremely secure, with tons of security features — encryption and multi-factor authentication being the headline here.
One of the most useful 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 easily.
You can also guarantee 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.
How often should passwords be updated?
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 is following 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 — then every account with the same password needs to be changed. On top of this, they need to be educated on safe password practices.
How do you create and remember a complex password?
The easiest way to create a complex password is to use an online generator. Many password managers come with a complex password creator installed, instantly saving them to your vault, however, there are also plenty of websites to 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 once saved, such as username and password, to ensure they are correct.
What is the best way to share a password securely?
Generally, there’s no reason to share a password with anyone. However, if you need to share passwords — such as employees sharing a single-person company account — many password managers have a secure sharing feature. This allows you to monitor who has access to which credentials, and when.
Otherwise, the most secure way to share a password is by making sure you’re using a method with 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 any cyber criminals trying to access it.
How do I know if a password has been compromised?
It’s typically quite 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 your password’s 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 large data breaches, and some password managers have security notifications built in. RJ Cortel offer our own Dark Web monitoring service to help provide you with this information.
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 cyber criminals can even get in.
How We Can Help
Passwords are very important to consider. While they’re slowly becoming a thing of the past, lots of organisations still use them — and so being aware of the best ways to protect your passwords is vital to staying secure.
These five questions are five of the most common questions asked when it comes to password security, and the answers will protect your business.
If you’re looking to get started with password security, reach out to us now. Our experts are here to help and will ensure that you have everything you need to keep your organisation secure.
Get in touch with us now and see how we can help.