As a business owner, you have to make some crucial decisions that can take your business to the next level, and protecting your sensitive data is one of them. Weak passwords account for 80% of all data breaches that companies face. Because of this, most businesses are now strengthening their cybersecurity solutions. One way of doing this is to use a password manager. If you’re unsure about what a password manager is, how it works, and why you should be using it, keep reading to find out more.
What Is a Business Password Manager?
The number of password-protected accounts we generate in our daily life is rapidly increasing, especially over the past few years. Almost every website requires you to have an account created using a user id and a password. This generation of different accounts gives birth to a new problem. Firstly, most people reuse the same password that they’ve used for another account because they simply cannot be bothered to remember the passwords to all of their accounts. It enables hackers to decode these passwords easily since they are weak and easy to remember.
A business password manager helps you solve these problems. A password manager can save and manage all of your passwords and credentials safely and securely. This makes it easy for you to sign in to accounts without worrying about any data breaches or other cyber threats. Since most people come up with easy-to-remember passwords, a business password manager can help generate different types of strong passwords that you can potentially use.
A business password manager will have a storage area where all your employees and workers can store their login credentials. So instead of remembering all of your passwords, you just need to remember one master password that can give you access.
Is It Necessary for a Company to Use a Password Manager?
Most cybercriminals usually target startups or new, flourishing businesses. Since these companies are relatively new in the industry, they won’t have maximum IT security on their databases and systems and are therefore easier to break into. A business password manager prevents a company from cyber threats such as phishing attacks and data breaches. According to information found at PassCamp, a business password manager helps a company implement password policies. This tool also allows you to monitor security across all of the devices used in your business and makes it easier to detect any potential risks in order to take action as necessary.
Why You Should Use a Password Manager
Here are a few reasons why your business needs a password manager:
1. For the Creation of Strong Passwords
For their convenience, most people will be creating easy-to-remember passwords. A strong password has to be at least 10-12 characters long and should have at least one number, one special character, one uppercase letter, and one lowercase letter. Meeting all of these requirements makes a password difficult to remember. With a business password manager, the tool will suggest a strong password and memorize it for you.
2. To Eliminate the Usage of the Same Password
Most of us have a habit of using the same password across multiple accounts, which exposes us to the risk of data breaches and cyber threats. Websites that get hacked with your user information stored on them will give the hackers access to your password. These cybercriminals can then use that password across multiple accounts and gain access to them. Since a business password manager generates passwords for its users, it will eliminate the chances of reusing the same password. This negates any risk of data breaches as well.
3. To Protect Against Phishing Attacks
Phishing emails are usually professional-looking emails from well-known companies such as Amazon and Google that provide a link and ask you to enter your user credentials. The link itself leads to a scam domain, controlled and accessed by the hacker. If one of your employees enters their user information into the scam domain, the hackers can use this data for their purposes. Password managers prevent users from logging into such scam domains since they won’t have the passwords saved for that domain. This lowers the effectiveness of hackers through phishing attacks.
4. To Eliminate Data Breaches
Let’s say that a cybercriminal gains access to one of your account login credentials. If the same password was used to make multiple accounts, then all your information has been compromised. A password manager prevents such data breaches from occurring as it can generate a new and strong password for every account.
5. To Monitor Password Changes
Having a password policy set in your workplace will not be enough to secure your system against potential threats. Have your employees change their passwords frequently, or every 2-3 months. A password manager will be able to monitor how efficiently your employees follow these rules and whether the passwords that they use are strong enough.
6. To Search the Web for Compromised Passwords
When a website gets attacked by a hacker, it can take months for the organization to find out about the breach, with the third-party members of that website being the last ones to know about it. By then, all of the stolen user information and login details will have already been uploaded onto the web – or the dark web – and can be used by anyone. Password managers can scour the internet to detect any employee passwords that have been compromised or put up for auction on the dark web.
Most organizations refrain from using password managers because of the time and money it takes to set them up. While you might have to invest a good chunk of your finances and time setting up this tool, you have to factor in the multiple benefits it brings to your company. Not only will your entire organization be secured against potential threats, but any risks can be detected at early stages and eliminated. Having a password policy and encouraging employees to change their passwords regularly is a good practice. This will help keep both their business and personal accounts safe.