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See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames, why ...

How to Make a Good Username | Create a Unique and Secure Username

See the best way to come up with a new username. We break down types of usernames, why secure usernames are important, and how to create them effectively!

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In an era where data is the lifeblood of businesses, securing your information on the cloud is non-negotiable. Even with the impeccable reputation of Microsoft Azure, understanding and implementing Azure security best practices is crucial. This guide aims to empower you with immediate steps to enhance your security while utilizing Microsoft Azure.

<ol>
<li>Key Takeaway: Azure offers a versatile set of services, including Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).</li>
<li>Key Takeaway: Empower Your Security with RBAC, and use Azure's MFA features to get your team one step close to authentication best practices: something you know, something you have, and something you are.</li>
<li>Key Takeaway: Strengthen Passwords, provide a password manager so the burden isn't on your employees, and Leverage Azure Security Center.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
[Table of contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#Whatismicrosoftazure" rel="follow">What is Microsoft Azure?</a></li>
<li><a href="#bestsecuritypractices" rel="follow">Best Security Practices for Microsoft Azure</a></li>
<li><a href="#teampasswordelevatesecurity" rel="follow">Elevate security with TeamPassword</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>What is Microsoft Azure?</h2>
Microsoft Azure, launched in 2010, has evolved into a robust cloud computing platform that offers a comprehensive suite of services. Its inception was a strategic move by Microsoft to compete in the growing cloud services market. Over the years, Azure has become a cornerstone for businesses seeking scalable and flexible cloud solutions.
Azure's journey began as a platform primarily focused on providing Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). It allowed organizations to virtualize their computing infrastructure, providing a cost-effective and flexible alternative to traditional on-premises solutions. As cloud computing gained momentum, Microsoft expanded Azure into a Platform as a Service (PaaS) and Software as a Service (SaaS) provider.
With continuous innovation and updates, Azure has positioned itself as a leading player in the cloud industry. Its global data centers, spanning multiple continents, ensure low-latency access and high availability for users across the globe. Microsoft's commitment to security, compliance, and interoperability has contributed to Azure's reputation as a reliable cloud service.
Azure's Data Storage Base is a key component, offering a variety of storage services to meet different business requirements.
<ul style="list-style-type: disc;">
<li>
Azure Blob Storage: Designed for storing massive amounts of unstructured data, Azure Blob Storage provides scalable and cost-effective object storage. It is ideal for scenarios such as backup, archiving, and serving large-scale static content.
</li>
<li>
Azure SQL Databases: For organizations requiring relational database management, Azure SQL Databases offer a fully managed and scalable solution. This service ensures high-performance, security, and reliability for applications relying on structured data.
</li>
<li>
Azure Cosmos DB: Geared towards globally distributed applications, Azure Cosmos DB is a multi-model, multi-API database service. It provides low-latency access to data on a global scale, making it suitable for scenarios where responsiveness and reliability are paramount.
</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="bestsecuritypractices">Best Security Practices for Microsoft Azure</h2>
In the expansive realm of Azure services, prioritizing security is not just a choice; it's a necessity. Let's delve into key practices that act as a fortress, strengthening the security of your Azure environment.
<h3>Utilize Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC)</h3>
In the dynamic landscape of cloud computing, granting access is a nuanced task. Utilizing Role-Based Access Controls (RBAC) is akin to handing out keys selectively in a secure facility. By assigning roles to users, organizations achieve precise control over who can access specific data and features. This separation of duties enhances security and streamlines workflows by limiting access to job-specific tasks.
As your organization evolves, RBAC allows adjustments to access levels as needed. Embrace the power of RBAC to ensure your Azure environment is safeguarded against unauthorized intrusions.
<h3>Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)</h3>
Relying solely on passwords is like leaving your front door unlocked. There's a door, and it's closed, but someone only has to go up and try the handle.
Implementing Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), preferably of the "something you have" variety (software token, hardware key), gets you one step closer to the recommended trio of authentication steps: something you know, something you have, and something you are.
Emphasize the significance of MFA, especially on mobile devices where vulnerabilities can be exploited. This security measure requires users to provide multiple forms of identification, such as a password and a verification code, significantly reducing the risk of unauthorized access. Elevate your security posture by making MFA a non-negotiable aspect of your Azure environment.
Read more: <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/2fa-vs-mfa" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">2FA vs MFA: Are they the same?</a>
<h3>Use Strong Passwords</h3>
Azure handles SSO for many services, but passwords are still broadly used and needed, and they need to be strong.&nbsp;
The problem is that imposing requirements but leaving it up to the user to store/memorize the password, results in bad practices. Change it every 3 months? 'password1' becomes 'password2'. Special character and uppercase? Fine, I'll go with 'Password1!'. Has to be 12 characters? How about 'password1111'?&nbsp;
Password length and variety&nbsp;are cornerstones of secure passwords, but you need to provide a password manager so your employees aren't tempted to create weak, reused passwords.
Use a <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password generator</a> for quick, secure passwords.&nbsp;
Most password managers have browser extensions that can easily autofill those complex passwords for you. Removing friction is key for your employees - especially those less tech-savvy - to use the software you provide for everyone's security.&nbsp;
For an in-depth guide, read our <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-password-security-teampassword" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Ultimate Guide to Password Security</a>
<h3>Leverage Azure Security Center</h3>
Azure Security Center stands as a comprehensive solution, acting as a sentinel for your security management. Its unified platform allows you to manage both Azure and non-Azure clouds efficiently, bringing simplicity to the complex realm of cloud security.
Capitalize on its robust threat detection capabilities, ensuring you are promptly notified of potential threats to your services and networks. Additionally, benefit from actionable insights provided by security recommendations, allowing you to stay one step ahead of potential security risks.
By adopting and integrating these best security practices into your Azure environment, you fortify your defenses against potential cyber threats and ensure a resilient security posture in the digital age.
<h2 id="teampasswordelevatesecurity">How TeamPassword Can Elevate Your Security</h2>
Passwords aren't disappearing anytime soon. SSO solutions and <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/passkey-technology" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">passkeys</a> continue to improve, but companies are slow to change, and passwords are easily implemented and familiar.&nbsp;
If you want your employees to use secure passwords, you need to provide them with the tools to do so. TeamPassword is a <a href="https://teampassword.com/security" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">secure</a>, <a href="https://teampassword.com/features" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">straightforward</a>, and cost-effective password manager for businesses.&nbsp;
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Try it for free for 14 days</a> - no credit card required!&nbsp;

Looking for ways to enhance your cyber security with Microsoft Azure? Check out our  Microsoft Azure security best practices and how TeamPassword can help!

Looking for ways to enhance your cyber security with Microsoft Azure? Check out our  Microsoft Azure security ...

Microsoft Azure Security Best Practices | Keep Azure Secure

Social media is the core of modern marketing strategy. It's an opportunity for brands to engage with their target market while driving traffic to products and services.
Many social media platforms like Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest only allow a single account login&mdash;meaning team members have to share credentials. It's also common for agencies to use their client's login credentials temporarily while working with them.&nbsp;
Why do you need to share social media credentials securely?&nbsp;
If you're not securely sharing social media credentials with teammates and clients, you could expose your company, clients, and customers to cyberattacks from malicious actors and data leaks.&nbsp;
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#securityrisks" rel="follow">Security risks of managing social media accounts</a></li>
<li><a href="#usingapasswordmanager" rel="follow">Using a password manager for social media credentials</a></li>
<li><a href="#othertools" rel="follow">Other tools to manage social media securely</a></li>
<li><a href="#managingallyourtools" rel="follow">Managing ALL Your Tools and Digital Assets With TeamPassword</a></li>
</ul>
TeamPassword is a <a href="https://teampassword.com/features" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password manager</a> designed to help small businesses and agencies <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-safely-share-passwords-with-coworkers" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">share credentials with coworkers safely</a> and efficiently. Try TeamPassword for your company with a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">14-day free trial</a>.
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<h2 id="securityrisks">Security Risks of Managing Social Media Accounts</h2>
Social media accounts are usually a high-risk digital asset to manage because multiple team members share a single login.&nbsp;
Reckless and unsafe password sharing methods like spreadsheets, emails, or text messages, increase your vulnerability to attack&mdash;even by mistake!
For example, someone could accidentally share access to a spreadsheet containing your social media accounts' credentials. Emails and text messages are also easy to share.
You also have to worry about sharing these credentials with freelancers and contractors; who has access to their devices or who they share your accounts with!
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<h3>What Happens if Your Passwords end up in the Wrong Hands?</h3>
Several things could happen if your social media passwords end up in the wrong hands:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Attackers could change your email and password, locking you out and holding the account ransom.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Post content to scam users out of money&mdash;one of the fallouts from the <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/what-happened-during-the-twitter-spear-phishing-attack" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">2020 Twitter spear-phishing attack</a>.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Steal customer data from direct messages.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">If you use the same credentials for other social media accounts, hackers could log into those too&mdash;also known as credential stuffing!</li>
</ol>
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<h3>What if you Forget Your Passwords?</h3>
In most cases, you can reset your password very easily using your email address. But there are instances where you might forget your password and no longer have access to the email address&mdash;something that's very possible at a company where the person who set up the social media account has left the company!
If you've forgotten your Facebook password, you have several recovery options, but other social media platforms only allow a standard password reset.&nbsp;
Recovering a social media account without access to an email address is near impossible. Just getting customer support to help you is a monumental challenge. Ever tried to contact customer support at a social media company? They rarely ever reply or offer any meaningful support!
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<h3>The Responsibility of Clients' Social Media Assets</h3>
Marketing agencies also need to consider the risk of losing their clients' social media accounts to hackers&mdash;which could be disastrous for a client's brand and your contract!
Not only do you have to worry about the social media accounts themselves, but hackers using the profile's contact details (like mobile number and email) for spear phishing attacks on your clients.
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You can manage these social media risks with one easy and affordable <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password management solution from TeamPassword</a>.
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<h2 id="usingapasswordmanager">Using a Password Manager for Social Media Credentials</h2>
A password manager lets you store and <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/keeping-data-secure-when-working-with-freelancers" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">share credentials with freelancers</a> and employees. We designed TeamPassword for small businesses and agencies to share credentials with internal and external team members securely.

<h3>Sharing Social Media Credentials Through Groups</h3>
Create groups for your social media accounts in TeamPassword and invite team members who need access. When someone leaves the team, simply revoke their access with a single click.
TeamPassword lets you connect multiple groups to the same credentials so that you can separate access by internal teams, freelancers, and clients, for example. This separation makes it easier to manage an entire group or set different rules for each team.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/YcjhIgIrQbiqaYlPjeVI" alt="undefined" width="736" height="480">
<h3>Logging in Using TeamPassword</h3>
Instead of using a username and password to log in to social media accounts, team members can use TeamPassword's browser extensions or our mobile app.
TeamPassword has browser extensions for Firefox, Chrome, and Safari so that team members can access accounts no matter their preferred operating system.&nbsp;
When a team member logs into a social media platform, TeamPassword's browser extension shows the available accounts. There's also a search function to quickly find the credentials. Select the one you need, and TeamPassword populates the username and password fields for you to log in&mdash;easy!
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/0gCOt5oQBCE1vxckmRZC" alt="TP extension in action GIF (video) (1).gif" width="787" height="443">
Teams can also use TeamPassword's app (iOS and Android) to log into mobile-only applications. They can search for the credentials in TeamPassword, then copy/paste the username and password to log in.
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<h3>Robust Usernames and Passwords</h3>
Create robust passwords for every social media account with TeamPassword's built-in <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password generator</a>, and learn how to create your own&nbsp;<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-types-of-usernames-username-ideas-to-make-your-logins-more-secure" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">usernames</a> to make credentials extra secure!
TeamPassword's password generator lets you create passwords from 12-32 characters with numbers, uppercase, lowercase, and symbols. When you reset a password in TeamPassword, it updates the new credentials for all team members so work can continue without disruptions.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Securing TeamPassword With Two-Step Authentication</h3>
What happens if attackers steal someone's TeamPassword credentials? Every <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-manager-with-2fa">TeamPassword account has 2FA</a> so that team members can create a second authentication step using the Google Authenticator app (iOS &amp; Android).
So, if attackers steal a team member's TeamPassword account, they can't log in without the six-digital Google Authenticator code. Employees can also generate backup codes, so they never get locked out of their TeamPassword account.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Tracking Activity</h3>
TeamPassword's activity log lets you track team members' actions like logins, sharing, password resets, new team members, and more. The activity log also helps investigate unauthorized sharing and access.
You can also set up email notifications for all TeamPassword actions to get instant alerts to sensitive accounts.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/OPlwxwskSCGTs0vVbzgK" alt="undefined" width="735" height="174">&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<h2 id="othertools">Other Tools to Manage Social Media Securely</h2>
Social media management tools not only help manage accounts but also limit access to social media accounts. Teams can do a lot of social media tasks through these apps, minimizing the necessity to log into the actual social media platform.
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Here are some of our five top social media tools for 2021.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;
<h3>Buffer</h3>
Buffer is a popular social media management and analytics platform. You can schedule, publish, and engage with followers, so team members can do most of the work from Buffer rather than logging into the social media account.
You have to pay per social media account and double for the team pack add-on, so it might be best to get the single user and share access through TeamPassword.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Hootsuite</h3>
Hootsuite is one of the largest and most comprehensive social media management tools available. They also have a fantastic resources section and Hootsuite Academy to learn about social media strategies and getting the most out of the tool.
Hootsuite is slightly cheaper than Buffer, but you still pay more for additional users, so we recommend using a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager</a> and sharing credentials.
&nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;
<h3>Sprout Social</h3>
Sprout Social is another social media management application, but with excellent monitoring and analysis tools. The UI makes it easy to generate reports and insights into hashtags, trends, engagement, user data, and more!
At $99 per month per user, Sprout Social is expensive, so you might want to consider sharing access rather than having a separate login for every person.
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<h3>BuzzSumo</h3>
BuzzSumo is an excellent tool for discovering the most shared blog content on social media. You can also find influencers in your niche that are likely to share or promote your content.
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<h3>MeetEdgar</h3>
MeetEdgar is the social media management tool for small businesses and startups. The app automates many mundane social media tasks and will even recycle old content on the days you forget to schedule something!
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<h2 id="managingallyourtools">Managing ALL Your Tools and Digital Assets With TeamPassword</h2>
TeamPassword's password manager is not just for social media accounts but all your company's digital assets.
Each team member can also store their private credentials (Slack, email, LinkedIn, etc.) in TeamPassword, so no company passwords are ever exposed!
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<h3>Is TeamPassword Safe?</h3>
TeamPassword uses <a href="https://teampassword.com/security">state-of-the-art encryption technology</a> to store your company's passwords. We hash, salt, and encrypt passwords locally on your computer before uploading them to our servers&mdash;not even TeamPassword employees can view your passwords!
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Our developers follow strict security protocols when deploying code and updates and carry out frequent vulnerability sweeps to scan our systems for viruses and ensure no backdoors lead to your sensitive data.
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<h3>Getting Started With TeamPassword</h3>
How your company can get started sharing passwords safely in five easy steps:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a free 14-day trial</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Add your company's shared credentials to TeamPassword</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Invite team members to create their TeamPassword account&mdash;make sure you instruct everyone to set up 2FA and security codes before they start using their account</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Create groups and share access with relevant team members</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Team members use TeamPassword's browser extensions or mobile app to log into accounts</li>
</ol>
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Secure your company's social media accounts and other digital assets with TeamPassword's robust password management solution today!

Secure your company's social media accounts and other digital assets with TeamPassword's robust password management solution today!

Sharing Social media credentials with teammates

Sharing social media credentials with teammates

Google's password manager provides the convenience to create, store, and use our many account credentials. You can preview these credentials in your Google password list, allowing you to log in to accounts on other browsers or devices.
We'll show you how to find your Google password list, demonstrate why you'd want to avoid <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-save-passwords-in-chrome-and-alternatives" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">saving passwords to Chrome</a>, and recommend a more secure password management solution.
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#whatisagooglepasswordlist" rel="follow">What is a Google Password List?</a></li>
<li><a href="#howtoenable" rel="follow">How to Enable Google's Password Manager</a></li>
<li><a href="#howtoview" rel="follow">How to View Google's Password List</a></li>
<li><a href="#therisks" rel="follow">The Risks of Saving Passwords in the Browser</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="whatisagooglepasswordlist">What is a Google Password List?</h2>
A Google password list is where Chrome saves all of your account credentials. You can scroll through every saved password, preview passwords, edit or delete credentials.
Most people use the Google password list to preview passwords to log into accounts using another browser or device. For example, if you reset your Facebook password using Chrome, the browser will save the new credentials for you&mdash;that's assuming you have Chrome's Offer to save passwords feature activated.
If you need to log into Facebook on your phone (but don't remember the new credentials), you'll need to go to your Google password list to find the new password you saved.
<h2 id="howtoenable">How to Enable Google's Password Manager</h2>
Here is a step-by-step guide to&nbsp;enable Chrome to save your passwords using the browser's built-in password manager.&nbsp;
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sign into the Chrome browser using your Google account to start.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Click your profile icon &gt; click the key symbol. Alternatively, click the menu icon (three vertical dots) to the right of your profile pic and select Settings.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Click&nbsp;Autofill and passwords on the left, then Google&nbsp;Password Manager&mdash;you are now in your Google password list, where you can preview, edit, and delete passwords.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">If you want to enable Google's password manager, make sure the toggle is on (illuminated blue) for Offer to save passwords.</li>
</ol>
You can read more about <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-save-passwords-in-chrome-and-alternatives" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">saving passwords to Chrome here</a>.
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/whcpyfERhKNvXpthXVyA" alt="undefined" width="809" height="302">
<h2 id="howtoview">How to View Google's Password List</h2>
Here are 4 steps to find and view your Google Password List. 
<ol>
<li>Sign-in to the Chrome browser using your Google account.</li>
<li>Click your profile icon &gt; click the key symbol. Alternatively, click the menu icon (three vertical dots) to the right of your profile pic and select Settings.</li>
<li>Select Autofill and passwords on the left, then&nbsp;Google Password Manager.&nbsp;</li>
<li>The Passwords tab shows you all Saved Passwords. Click to expand and see notes or make edits.&nbsp;</li>
</ol>
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/lXuNIUSBRjixbDAOgTCN" alt="undefined" width="821" height="173">
<h2 id="therisks">The Risks of Saving Passwords in the Browser</h2>
Saving passwords to the browser is easy and convenient. But, many people don't fully understand the cybersecurity risks these "password managers" pose.
While Chrome promises to encrypt your data before it leaves your device, they do not promise zero-knowledge or end-to-end encryption.&nbsp;Users can be socially engineered to download malicious browser extensions that capture data in Chrome. 
A dedicated password manager features advanced <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/what-is-password-encryption-and-how-much-is-enough" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password encryption</a>, mitigating the risks of a data breach.
If you want to continue using Chrome's password manager, you should at least <a href="https://support.google.com/accounts/answer/11350823?hl=en&amp;visit_id=637877049232061402-3698589533&amp;p=import-pws&amp;rd=1" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">enable on-device encryption</a>. Chrome doesn't require it - and how many users know to look for that setting?&nbsp;
Browser password managers lack features like secure password sharing between families and colleagues, a variety of MFA options like hardware keys, or single sign-on (SSO) solutions. Additionally, if you switch browsers, your passwords won't be there. Most dedicated password managers work on all major browsers and operating systems.&nbsp;
<h2>How is a Password Manager Browser Extension Different?</h2>
Most password managers use browser extensions, but how is this different from saving passwords to a browser?
Firstly, a password manager doesn't save your passwords in the browser; it simply uses the browser extension like a key to authenticate you. For example, TeamPassword saves your encrypted credentials on a secure server, not in its browser extension!
A password manager browser extension requires a separate sign-in. If someone hacks your browser (or Google account), they'll need different credentials to sign in to the password manager.&nbsp;
<a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/password-manager-with-2fa" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">TeamPassword features two-factor authentication</a> (2FA), so even if someone steals your credentials, the second authentication method prevents them from logging in!
Lastly, browser password managers don't provide secure credential-sharing functionality, so you can't share <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/how-to-safely-share-passwords-with-coworkers" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">passwords safely with team members</a>.
If you're a freelancer or small business looking for better password security, then you'll need a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password manager like TeamPassword</a>.
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2>Secure Password Management With TeamPassword</h2>
We built <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">TeamPassword</a> as a secure and affordable password management solution for small businesses and agencies to share passwords safely.
Many agencies still use browser password managers, spreadsheets, chat, or email to store and share passwords. All of these methods are insecure and pose massive cybersecurity risks.
We highly recommend you conduct a thorough <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/what-is-a-security-audit-and-does-my-business-need-one">security audit</a> for a clear picture of your company's cybersecurity vulnerabilities. A security audit will identify password issues and how to fix them.
If your company isn't using a password manager, then we highly recommend you start! You only have to read about the latest <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/category/data-breaches">data breaches</a> to learn that most cyberattacks happen due to poor credential practices.
Here's how TeamPassword's security features can help secure your company's digital assets.
<h3>Secure Credential Sharing &amp; Authentication</h3>
TeamPassword's strongest feature is its ability to share passwords securely. Something your browser cannot do!
Set up groups for different departments, accounts, clients, or teams, for example. Instead of sharing raw passwords, you invite team members to your TeamPassword groups so they can access credentials and log in.
Each team member can also save private credentials in TeamPassword that they don't need to share&mdash;like Slack, email, Asana, etc. Passwords they would usually save in the browser!
You can also share access with freelancers and contractors in TeamPassword. Add these individuals to the groups or accounts where they need access, and remove them when the job is done. No need to change credentials every time someone leaves the team!
<h3>TeamPassword's Secure Browser Extensions &amp; App</h3>
Your employees can log into shared accounts using one of TeamPassword's browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, Safari) or our mobile app (iOS &amp; Android).
When a team member visits one of your websites or apps, the browser extension will provide the credentials to log in. If you have multiple accounts, you simply click the one you need.&nbsp;
For example, if your company manages multiple Twitter accounts when a team member lands on the Twitter login, TeamPassword will show a list of available credentials.
Employees can also use the TeamPassword app to log into mobile applications. They open TeamPassword, find the credentials they need, and copy/paste the username and password to log in.
<h3>Built-In Password Manager</h3>
TeamPassword's built-in <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">password generator</a> lets you create secure, unique passwords with a single click. Copy this new password to the application's password field and save!
TeamPassword will automatically update any new passwords for all users so team members can continue working without disruption.
You can also use TeamPassword's password generator to create <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-types-of-usernames-username-ideas-to-make-your-logins-more-secure">unique usernames</a>, adding an extra layer of security to your credentials!
<h3>Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)</h3>
TeamPassword uses Google Authenticator (iOS &amp; Android) to provide two-factor authentication for each team member's account. 2FA provides a second authentication step, so even if a criminal steals an employee's TeamPassword credentials, they won't get past the second step!
TeamPassword also allows each team member to create backup codes, so they're never locked out of their account&mdash;even in the event of a complete system breach!
<h3>Keeping Track of TeamPassword Activity</h3>
An activity log is another feature browser password managers don't possess. TeamPassword's activity log tracks every action (logins, sharing, new passwords, etc.) so you can monitor or review unauthorized sharing and access.
Additionally, you can set up email notifications for your most sensitive data and accounts. With instant alerts, you can get ahead of security breaches!
<h3>How Safe is TeamPassword's Password Manager?</h3>
TeamPassword <a href="https://teampassword.com/security" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">uses state-of-the-art encryption technology</a> to store your company's passwords. We hash, salt, and encrypt data locally on your PC before uploading passwords to our servers.
TeamPassword uses 256-bit AES encryption, trusted by government agencies (including the United States) and global multinational corporations. With this sort of encryption, not even TeamPassword can view your credentials!
Here is a list of TeamPassword's internationally recognized security accreditations:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">ISO 27001</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">SOC 1 and SOC 2/SSAE 16/ISAE 3402 (Previously SAS 70 Type II)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">PCI Level 1</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">FISMA Moderate</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX)</li>
</ul>
TeamPassword also conducts regular security audits and vulnerability sweeps to ensure our systems are malware and virus-free!
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2>Getting Started With TeamPassword</h2>
Try TeamPassword for free for 14 days to see if our password manager meets your company's needs. Here's how to get started in five easy steps:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1"><a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Sign up for a free TeamPassword trial</a></li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Create groups for your different teams</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Invite team members (including clients and freelancers) to TeamPassword</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Add your company's credentials (you can also bulk import a CSV file or copy/paste using TeamPassword's importer.)</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Team members install the TeamPassword browser extension of their choice and log in to your company accounts&mdash;EASY!</li>
</ol>
Stop employees from saving passwords in the browser and switch to a secure password manager. Create stronger passwords and share credentials securely with TeamPassword.&nbsp;

How to find your Google Password List, and why using a password manager like TeamPassword is much safer than saving passwords in Chrome.

How to find your Google Password List, and why using a password manager like TeamPassword is much safer ...

How to Find my Google Password List

Welcome to the world of passkey security, where the key to unlocking your digital fortress is simpler, yet more robust than ever. In this blog, we'll break down the basics of passkeys, explore how they work, and delve into their advantages and potential challenges.
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#understandingthebasics" rel="follow">Passkey Security: Understanding the Basics</a></li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#passkeysandmfa" rel="follow">Passkeys and MFA</a></li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#howdoespasskeysecuritywork" rel="follow">How Does Passkey Security Work?&nbsp;</a></li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#advantagesofpasskeysecurity" rel="follow">Advantages of Passkey Security</a></li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#bestpractices" rel="follow">Best Practices for Passkey Security</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="understandingthebasics">Passkey Security: Understanding the Basics</h2>
If you want to protect your data from cyberattacks, you need to use strong and secure authentication methods. One of the most effective ways to do that is by using passkeys. But what are passkeys and <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/passkey-vs-password" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">how do they differ from traditional passwords</a>?
A passkey refers to a cryptographic key pair that together encrypts and decrypts data. Unlike passwords, the passkey is never seen by the user.
If you don't know the passkey, how do you use it?
When creating a passkey for a new account, you'll verify your intent by unlocking the device using your PIN or biometrics. Your operating system creates a unique cryptographic key pair; one key is stored on the application or website where you're making an account, while the other is stored in secure elements on your device (such as secure enclaves or <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trusted_Platform_Module" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">trusted platform modules (TPMs)</a>).
When you return to log into your account, you'll need to verify yourself as the device owner with that same PIN or biometric.
Passkeys are highly resistant to stealing, guessing, and brute-forcing, and cannot be phished. A criminal's best bet is to steal your device and biometric data that unlocks it.&nbsp;
One drawback is that only this device is authorized to log into the account. This inconvenience is being overcome, however, as tech giants like Google and Apple give you the option to sync your passkeys with your Google or iCloud account. Third-party password managers are implementing passkey support as well.&nbsp;It's important to understand that this puts the security of your private key in their hands.&nbsp;
A full walkthrough of setting up a passkey, understanding what is stored where, and handling roaming can be found <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/passkey-technology#:~:text=device%20FIDO%20credentials-,Passkey%20Login%20Examples,-Note%3A%C2%A0Below" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp;
<h2 id="passkeysandmfa">Passkeys and Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)</h2>
Part of a passkey's appeal is that it combines the security elements achieved by passwords + MFA.
Passkeys require something you are or&nbsp;know (biometrics, PIN) plus something you&nbsp;possess (the device you authorized to store the cryptographic key pair - usually your phone).&nbsp;
The password + MFA setup requires two steps to achieve this. You need a password (something you know) and something else you know or are supposed to possess (software token from 2FA app, the code texted to your phone). But <a href="https://krebsonsecurity.com/2021/03/can-we-stop-pretending-sms-is-secure-now/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">SMS as a 2FA solution has severe drawbacks</a>, and people's <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-password-security-teampassword" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">password hygiene habits</a> aren't keeping up.
By combining elements of MFA with phishing-resistant cryptographic key pairs, passkeys increase convenience and improve security - a rare package in cybersecurity.&nbsp;
<h2 id="howdoespasskeysecuritywork">How Does Passkey Security Work?</h2>
Now that we've laid the groundwork, let's explore the inner workings of passkey security.
<h3>Passkey Generation</h3>
Passkey generation refers to the process of creating a unique cryptographic key pair for use in an authentication process. Passkeys replace the most common authentication method of username/password.
Here's an overview of the key components of passkey generation:
<ul>
<li>Randomness: Passkeys are designed to be unpredictable and difficult to guess. To achieve this, cryptographic systems often use sources of entropy, such as random number generators, to ensure that the generated passkey is truly random.</li>
<li>Asymmetric-key cryptography: This involves a pair of keys &ndash; a public key and a private key. The passkey generation process generates these key pairs. The public key is stored on a server, but it is useless without the private key, which is stored on your device. Data encrypted with the public key can only be decrypted by the corresponding private key.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Secure Storage: Once generated, passkeys need to be securely stored. This is crucial, especially for private keys in asymmetric cryptography. Unauthorized access to the keys compromises the security of the system.</li>
</ul>
Details of passkey generation may vary depending on the specific cryptographic protocols or standards being used. Additionally, security best practices and standards evolve over time, so if you plan to implement passkeys from a developer's perspective or wish to know the latest in passkey security enhancements, you'll be best served by the <a href="https://fidoalliance.org/" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">FIDO Alliance website</a>.
<h3>Public and Private Keys</h3>
Enter the concept of <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Public-key_cryptography" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">public and private keys</a>. In passkey security, the public key is stored in an online database, while the private key remains on the user's device, or is "roamed" to other devices by a service like iCloud Keychain. This asymmetrical approach adds an extra layer of security, ensuring that even if the public key falls into the wrong hands, it remains useless without its counterpart.
Note: There are now several methods to sync your private key online and skip the <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/passkey-technology#:~:text=Now%2C%20I%20need%20to%20log%20in%20on%20my%20Macbook." rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Bluetooth authentication ceremony</a> normally required to enroll a new device. Syncing your private key places the security of said key in the hands of Google, Apple, or a third-party password manager. Whether or not this is a worthwhile tradeoff is up to you and your use case.&nbsp;
<h2 id="advantagesofpasskeysecurity">Advantages of Passkey Security</h2>
Let's explore why passkey security is gaining traction in the digital landscape.
<h3>Increased Security</h3>
Leaked and stolen passwords, phished 2FA tokens, and social engineering attacks continue to cost millions for businesses and wreak havoc for consumers.&nbsp;
Passkeys can't be phished, obtained through social engineering, or tricked into signing into a fake website. Passkeys are always long and random - something fallible humans continue to miss with passwords despite warnings from every side.
Together, these features eliminate the main downfalls of passwords.&nbsp;
<h3>User-Friendly Authentication</h3>
Say goodbye to complex password requirements and forgotten combinations. Passkeys streamline the authentication process, offering a user-friendly experience without compromising security.
<h2 id="challenges">Challenges and Considerations</h2>
As with any security system, passkeys come with their own challenges.
The features that make passkeys secure make managing them trickier.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Passkeys can't be exported and imported between ecosystems at the time of this writing.</li>
</ul>
It's partly a security problem, but what incentive do vendors have to make it easy to transfer passkeys from Google Password Manager to iCloud Keychain, or from Keychain to a third-party password manager? If you have your passkeys in iCloud Keychain and decide to switch to Android, you'll have a lot of manual work to do setting up new passkeys for your accounts.&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>If your passkey isn't synced and you lose the device storing it, how do you create a new passkey?&nbsp;</li>
</ul>
Relying parties (websites/applications) don't have a good answer. Sending a "reset passkey" email is off the table - it undoes the security benefits passkeys provide.&nbsp;&nbsp;
<ul>
<li>Corporate security policies are slow to change - passkeys are not. </li>
</ul>
How will corporate security teams handle their users using passkeys? In the vast majority of cases, passkeys are more secure, yet most companies have no documentation or policies around how they should be used, whether or not the private key can be synced and to what vendor, etc. Passkeys will be adopted slowly and messily.&nbsp;
<h2 id="bestpractices">Best Practices for Passkey Security</h2>
The critical element in passkey security is device security. If you lose your smartphone and it's only protected with a PIN like 1234, you risk your passkey-protected accounts being compromised.&nbsp;
The best thing you can do is to never leave your devices unattended where they could be stolen, and secure them with biometrics or a strong PIN.&nbsp;
You may wish to opt out of syncing your passkeys to a third-party password manager. A Bluetooth authentication ceremony will be required to authenticate a new device to use the website/application, but the private key security remains on your device.
<h2>Increase Security with TeamPassword</h2>
Passkeys lack universal support; password security remains critical. If you share passwords with colleagues and seek an effortless, secure, and cost-effective solution, test out TeamPassword.
TeamPassword prioritizes seamless implementation, <a href="https://teampassword.com/features" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">user-friendliness</a>, <a href="https://teampassword.com/security" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">security</a>, and outstanding customer support.
Need evidence? Explore <a href="https://www.g2.com/products/teampassword/reviews#reviews" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">customer testimonials on G2</a>.
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup" rel="follow noopener" target="_blank">Try us for free for 14 days!</a>&nbsp;

Struggling to understand the difference between a password and passkey security? Our comprehensive guide will walk you through everything you need to know!

Struggling to understand the difference between a password and passkey security? Our comprehensive guide will walk you through ...

Passkey Security | Understanding How Passkeys Keep You Secure

When people are thinking about common vectors for cybercrimes, a voice phone call might not come to mind. However, over the last decades, criminals have found it increasingly profitable to gain information over the phone. Vishing, or voice phishing, is when a cybercriminal uses the phone to gain sensitive information from the recipient as part of a larger cyberattack. Here&rsquo;s what you need to know to keep yourself safe from vishing attacks in 2024.&nbsp;

TeamPassword makes it easy to keep your accounts safe from cybercriminals. Don&rsquo;t believe us? Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">14-day free trial today</a> and try for yourself.
[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#whatisvishing" rel="follow">What is vishing?</a></li>
<li><a href="#vishingexample" rel="follow">Vishing example</a></li>
<li><a href="#vishingstats" rel="follow">Vishing statistics</a></li>
<li><a href="#commonvishingtactics" rel="follow">Common vishing tactics</a></li>
<li><a href="#howtoprevent" rel="follow">How do you prevent vishing attacks?</a></li>
</ul>
<h2>What is vishing?</h2>
Here is a simple definition of vishing.&nbsp;

Vishing definition: Vishing (voice phishing), sometimes referred to as a phone scam, is when cybercriminals use phone calls to gain sensitive information from the recipient as part of a cyberattack.&nbsp;
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/dJiqlM9S7a7v9O6WxBjJ" width="601" height="400">
<h2 id="whatisvishing">What is the goal of vishing attacks?</h2>

Ultimately, vishing attacks like most cyberattacks, are about gaining money from the victim. This can be done directly, by getting the person on the phone to transfer money during that phone call or subsequent ones, often using cryptocurrencies or gift cards to make it harder to reverse and track the payments.&nbsp;

However, for businesses, vishing attacks are often designed to get more money indirectly, by getting sensitive information, such as usernames and passwords, to further a larger sophisticated attack.&nbsp;

For example, vishing is often part of a <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/10-cyberattacks-recently-used-by-hackers-2023#ransomware">ransomware attack</a>.
<h2 id="vishingexample">Vishing example&nbsp;</h2>
If you search news sites for vishing examples, you&rsquo;ll find dozens. Many of them are long-running scams that target the elderly and gain a few hundred to thousands of dollars per victim. However, <a href="https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/european-police-take-down-9m/">the total gained can reach the millions</a> as these scams are hard to investigate and easy to scale.&nbsp;

While less common, vishing attacks also threaten business, and the total dollar value of a single attack can easily exceed millions of dollars. Caesars and MGM, two Las Vegas casinos, were attacked using vishing and <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/spear-phishing">spear phishing</a> techniques together.&nbsp;

Criminals used information found on LinkedIn to impersonate employees on the phone with the IT department. Then, they used the new credentials provided by IT to break into their systems and install ransomware.&nbsp;

The results were devastating. <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/noahbarsky/2023/09/20/caesars-and-mgm-boards-lose-cybersecurity-gambles/?sh=256cf4974463">MGM</a> saw their cash flow drop by 10-20% and market capitalization decrease by $2 billion during the 10 days they were unable to operate.&nbsp;

Caesars, unlike MGM, decided to pay a reported $15 million to the <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/resources-for-ransomware">ransomware-as-a-service</a> hackers. Indeed, if you allow the vishing scheme to get to the point where ransomware has been installed on your business&rsquo;s system, then paying the ransom is often the most economical route.
<h2 id="vishingstats">Vishing statistics</h2>

Phone scams have been around for decades, but the nature of these schemes has changed dramatically in the last decade. Criminals are now able to &ldquo;spoof&rdquo; local phone numbers, even your grandchild or coworker&rsquo;s phone number, to make their pitches seem more authentic.&nbsp;

In addition, they can use information publicly available on <a href="https://aag-it.com/the-latest-phishing-statistics/">Linkedin</a> to further benefit their case. These tools combined with lots of practice have made it very hard for even IT professionals to recognize a visher.&nbsp;

That&rsquo;s why about <a href="https://www.truecaller.com/blog/insights/truecaller-insights-2022-us-spam-scam-report">one third of all Americans</a> have fallen victim to a phone scam at some point. All of these attacks combined have pushed the economic cost higher, from $29.8 billion in 2021 to $39.5 billion in 2022.&nbsp;

Around <a href="https://www.proofpoint.com/sites/default/files/threat-reports/pfpt-us-tr-state-of-the-phish-2023.pdf">300,000 to 400,000</a> vishing phone calls were recorded daily in America in 2022. Despite this, only 30% of professionals were familiar with the term &ldquo;vishing&rdquo; in 2022, up from 25% in 2019.&nbsp;

Vishing represents the third most popular vector for cyberattacks on businesses, with the average loss from a successful attack reaching <a href="https://techreport.com/statistics/vishing-statistics/">$10.1 million</a>.
<h2 id="commonvishingtactics">Common vishing tactics</h2>

According to the Federal Trade Commission (<a href="https://consumer.ftc.gov/articles/phone-scams">FTC</a>), &ldquo;There is no prize&hellip; You won&rsquo;t be arrested&hellip; You don&rsquo;t need to decide now&hellip; Only scammers demand you pay certain ways&hellip; [and] Government agencies won&rsquo;t call to confirm your sensitive information.&rdquo;&nbsp;

That&rsquo;s a pretty good summary of common vishing tactics. Basically, they use the same tools as marketers to make you feel like you need to make a decision now and the stakes are high enough that you should listen to the visher instead of your gut.

Here are some common specific vishing strategies:

<ul>
<li>
Bank or other account problems: The visher pretends to be from your bank and says there is an issue with your account. They might have just enough information to make you think it is legitimate. For example, the first four digits of your credit card is likely the same as every other person using the same bank. They then get you to give up more sensitive information so they can steal money from your account.
</li>
<li>
Tax or other payment problems: In this case, the scammers pretend to be a member of a government organization (probably the IRS in America, CRA in Canada, and so on). They tell you that you must pay immediately as the fines on your tax return are increasing quickly. Remember, outside of Nicaragua, no government wants Bitcoin.
</li>
<li>
Technical support: In this case, the vishers are looking to gain entry into some of your personal accounts, especially your <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/why-do-hackers-want-your-email-address">email account</a>. They can then use &ldquo;lost password&rdquo; functions or your tendency to reuse passwords to get into all of your other accounts.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Free prize: In this case, instead of scaring you into giving them money, they try to get payment information in exchange for the promise of a big prize.
</li>
<li>
Impersonation: Instead of posing as a bank or other organization, some vishing attacks include impersonating a specific person. Common examples include posing as the CEO or CFO of your employer, or as your grandchild.&nbsp;
</li>
<li>
Investment or timeshare scams. Vishers might convince you that, if you pay right now, you can lock in a great investment deal, or cheap vacation, or really anything else that someone might be tempted to accept.
</li>
<li>
Charity scams: Fear and excitement can get you to do something you might not otherwise, but so can sadness or guilt. Charity scams do just that by making you feel sad or guilty and therefore more inclined to hand over payment information.&nbsp;
</li>
</ul>
<img src="https://cdn.buttercms.com/QCjkejDQfKiAtEYWEkuT" width="601" height="400">
<h2 id="howtoprevent">How do you prevent vishing attacks?&nbsp;</h2>

No vishing attack can succeed if you do three things: slow down, hang up, and call back.&nbsp;

<ol>
<li>
Slow down: The IRS is not going to put you in a position where you have to pay a fine while on the phone. They definitely aren&rsquo;t going to make you pay with crypto or gift cards! Whatever emotion they are pushing&mdash;fear, guilt, excitement&mdash;just take a couple of breaths and think about whether this is a scam.
</li>
<li>
Hang up: If you have even the slightest feeling something is a scam, then it&rsquo;s almost definitely a scam. Simply hang up. If the call was legitimate, then you can find out during Step 3.
</li>
<li>
Call back: If someone from the Bank of America calls you, then you can always hang up, find the number online, and call that number to ask about your account. If the issue was legitimate, then they&rsquo;ll know about it. Otherwise, pat yourself on the back for dodging a scam.&nbsp;
</li>
</ol>

As an IT leader, you should equip your team with the knowledge and tools they need to avoid vishing scams.&nbsp;

<ol>
<li>
Knowledge: A paltry 30% of Americans know the term vishing. While many more probably have a general idea of what phone scams are, they might not be aware of just how sophisticated they can be. You should be informing them of the pitfalls and how to protect the business from this major threat.
</li>
<li>
Tools: There are many types of software available to protect employees from vishing attacks. Foremost among the tools needed is a way to protect your most sensitive information. <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-password-managers-for-teams">TeamPassword is the best password manager for teams.</a> When your employees don&rsquo;t need to know the credentials to share them, they can&rsquo;t accidentally share them with hackers.
</li>
</ol>
<h2>Use TeamPassword to prevent vishing attacks</h2>

TeamPassword can help you stay safe from the threat of vishing attacks. By creating and securely storing unique, random, and strong passwords for each account, they are off limits to those trying to steal your information. The less information available publicly, the harder it is for vishing calls to sound legitimate.

Furthermore, by making it easy to securely share passwords within the company, employees know that anyone asking for such information over the phone is a scammer.&nbsp;

TeamPassword can protect your important accounts from vishers. Don&rsquo;t believe us? <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today and try for yourself.

Vishing is when hackers use the phone to get sensitive information from the recipient. Here’s what you need to know to stay safe.

Vishing is when hackers use the phone to get sensitive information from the recipient as part of a ...

Vishing: What you need to know to stay safe in 2024

Vishing is when hackers use the phone to get sensitive information from the recipient as part of a sophisticated cyberattack. Here’s what you need to know.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a growing number of serious cybersecurity threats in the modern age, especially as malicious actors develop more sophisticated attack vectors and techniques. According to <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-gc-link="https://www.blackfog.com/smbs-were-victims-cyberattack/" href="https://www.blackfog.com/smbs-were-victims-cyberattack/">a June 2023 study by BlackFog</a>, 61% of small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. and U.K. were the victims of successful cyber attacks in the previous year. A large number of these impacted organizations faced downtime during critical operating hours and customer data loss.
SMEs find themselves in a particularly vulnerable cybersecurity position, as they're large enough to have multiple applications and data sources that can fall prey to attacks but small enough that they may not have up-to-date, enterprise-level security safeguards in place. In many cases, these organizations do not think they have the internal budget and know-how to set up their cybersecurity infrastructure for success.
Fortunately, there are many low-cost and no-cost steps you can take to optimize your SME's cybersecurity setup. In this guide, we'll walk you through some of the best practices, tools, and strategies you can adopt for more effective cybersecurity management.
But before we dive into the five most effective ways to keep your SME secure, we've compiled a quick list of key takeaways from this article:
<ul>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Key Takeaway #1: SMEs face unique cybersecurity threats, but there are many low-cost and easy-to-implement solutions that can mitigate these threats across an organization.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Key Takeaway #2: Employees at all levels in your organization can act as a gateway to security threats; train all staff on cybersecurity and password best practices to improve your overall cybersecurity posture.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Key Takeaway #3: Invest in relevant cybersecurity software and services, but more importantly, make sure all existing components in your network are regularly monitored, audited, and updated.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Key Takeaway #4: Password managers offer a low-cost way for organizations to manage individual, team, and company-wide credentials in a secure and accessible format.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Key Takeaway #5: Your data is an asset to you but a liability in the wrong hands; invest in tools like TeamPassword that prioritize and support data security and compliance best practices.</li>
</ul>
Table of Contents
<ul>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#whyiscybersecurityimportant" rel="follow">Why Is Cybersecurity Important for SMEs?</a></li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#commoncybersecuritythreats" rel="follow">Common Cybersecurity Threats for SMEs</a></li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#5waystokeepyoursmesecure" rel="follow">5 Ways to Keep Your SME Secure</a></li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1"><a href="#strengthenyoursme" rel="follow">Strengthen Your SME Security with the Help of TeamPassword</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="whyiscybersecurityimportant">Why Is Cybersecurity Important for SMEs?</h2>
Cybersecurity protections are an important part of ensuring an SME's operations stay up and running, no matter how threat actors behave and other external factors change. These are some of the key ways in which a strong cybersecurity strategy can benefit your SME:
<ul>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Data Protection: Small and medium-sized enterprises work with a wide variety of applications, hardware, software, and datasets that may include sensitive or proprietary information. Setting up data security tools and best practices gives security administrators more visibility into how data is being used, enables data encryption, and notifies administrators if/when data becomes vulnerable to attack.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Financial Security: Many cybersecurity tools protect data privacy and adhere to data compliance regulations, including strict regulations in the financial sector. Investing in the right cybersecurity tools and frameworks can support more secure financial transactions, give administrators an interface to monitor financial data for fraud, and provide businesses with the tools they need to encrypt and otherwise protect financial data and comply with regulations like the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (SOX).</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Business Continuity: A successful cybersecurity attack can lead to a range of problems, including data loss and network downtime and disruptions. With cybersecurity tools and strategies in place, your organization can prevent these kinds of disruptions by proactively detecting threats and quickly determining and acting on an incident response strategy.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Adherence to Compliance and Legal Obligations: Many compliance laws and other kinds of regulations have strict rules about how and by whom data can be handled. A cybersecurity strategy that emphasizes data security and encryption can help your organization pass audits with flying colors, protect customer data, and maintain your reputation as a compliant operator.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="commoncybersecuritythreats">Common Cybersecurity Threats for SMEs</h2>
SME cybersecurity threats may target individual users, third-party applications, storage systems, databases, or other elements of your organization's network. Some of the most common ways in which bad actors launch attacks against SMEs include the following:
<ul>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Phishing: Phishing is a communication-driven attack vector in which hackers send messages with malicious code, malware, or other subtle attacks to individual network users, most often via email. It's an effective cyber attack method because it targets multiple users with believable messages that can lead to accidental information leakages at scale.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Ransomware: This type of malware is one in which malicious code is installed on an enterprise network in a way that shuts down key operations and data access until the victim pays a ransom to the attacker. It most often impacts SMEs when their core applications are outdated or otherwise lacking in perimeter security protections and can lead to data loss and public leaks.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Viruses: A type of malware attack in which the attack code is multiplied and used to infect other tools and programs in the same system. Viruses can quickly take over an entire computer or network if no protections are in place against lateral movement; this type of takeover can lead to network downtime, data loss or theft, and other operational issues.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Malware: Any type of malicious software that is used to infiltrate a business network and cause some type of damage. Malware can be difficult to detect and remove, and even once it's removed, the damage may already be done in the form of data loss or corruption.</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Password Hacking: When hackers attempt to gain unauthorized access to networks and related systems and accounts by exploiting password and credential vulnerabilities with brute-force attacks, phishing, or credential stuffing. Password hacking can give unauthorized users access to your most sensitive data and systems, resulting in data loss or corruption, fraud, and/or noncompliance issues.</li>
</ul>
<h2 id="5waystokeepyoursmesecure">5 Ways to Keep Your SME Secure</h2>
Regardless of the budget and current in-house cybersecurity expertise your team has, there are many best practices and strategies that can improve your SME's overall security posture. These five tips will get you started in securing your organization's most important assets:
<h3>1. Train Employees on Cybersecurity Best Practices</h3>
An organization's most important asset is its people, but people can also become a cybersecurity liability if they aren't trained on how to uphold security and privacy best practices in their daily work. Offering regular cybersecurity training sessions to employees throughout the organization is a great practice, as it educates them on a range of potential threats and the role they can unknowingly play in opening the organization to new threats.
Whatever training you develop should cover best practices, like not clicking on links in suspicious-looking emails, and the importance of using strong <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-gc-link="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-types-of-usernames-username-ideas-to-make-your-logins-more-secure" href="https://teampassword.com/blog/best-types-of-usernames-username-ideas-to-make-your-logins-more-secure">usernames</a>, <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-gc-link="https://teampassword.com/ko/blog/password-best-practices-what-makes-a-strong-password" href="https://teampassword.com/ko/blog/password-best-practices-what-makes-a-strong-password">passwords</a>, and other user credentials. Also, give employees a clear process for reporting suspicious activity or suspected threats; a ticketing system or threat monitoring system that can accept user notifications is a possibility.
<h3>2. Use Strong Authentication Measures</h3>
Making sure users are who they say they are is one of the easiest ways to prevent unauthorized access to and behaviors on your organization's network. Strong authentication measures, like multi-factor authentication (MFA), device registration, and/or credentials-based logins give employees access to everything they need without opening the floodgates to everyone else.
However, authentication measures like passwords are only as effective as the credentials that are used. If users are regularly picking easy-to-guess passwords or sharing their credentials with other users through unencrypted and unsecured channels, bad actors can fairly easily phish out those credentials and get into your network. It's important to not only set but enforce standards for unique password creation and secure sharing to prevent these kinds of scenarios.
Password managers offer <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-gc-link="https://teampassword.com/security" href="https://teampassword.com/security">built-in security features and benefits</a> and are great solutions for any organization that wants a more standardized way to generate and manage user passwords. For example, TeamPassword supports secure group-based credentials-sharing and gives administrators real-time visibility into password and user group activities that may lead to security incidents.
<h3>3. Complete Regular System Maintenance Tasks</h3>
Besides user error, outdated software and operating systems are some of the most common gateways for cyber attacks. Software providers regularly identify issues in their products and patch or completely revamp their products to fix the problem, but if your team does not keep up-to-date with these third-party changes and recommendations, hackers can quickly pick up on the presence of out-of-date tools and find ways to get into your network and wreak havoc.
Whether it's a tool you've spun up internally or a third-party application, your team should prioritize keeping all software, operating systems, antivirus programs, and applications up to date and regularly check with third-party vendors for updates that minimize risk.
However, depending on the number of third-party tools you're using, this can become an overwhelming process. Consider investing in tools like vulnerability scanners, patch management systems, continuous monitoring tools, and security information and event management (SIEM) systems to automate and scale the process of system maintenance across your network.
<h3>4. Increase Network Security</h3>
Your organization's WiFi network includes infrastructure that can easily be compromised if you're not intentional with your network security practices. When it comes to your WiFi network, be sure to use encryption, unique network names, and regularly updated passwords, and keep track of all of this information with thorough and secure documentation. If possible, you should also set up your WiFi as a private network with only authorized users, as public WiFi networks provide limited safeguards against hackers.
It's important to note that, in the modern cloud, hybrid, and multi-cloud networks, traditional network and perimeter security practices aren't nearly as effective as they used to be. It's certainly still important to maintain firewalls and WiFi best practices, but modern network security techniques and tools may be necessary. One of the following tool types may be what you need to up your network security game:
<ul>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Endpoint detection and response (EDR) or extended detection and response (XDR).</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Secure access service edge (SASE).</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Security information and event management (SIEM).</li>
<li data-gc-list-style="bullet" data-gc-list-depth="1">Security orchestration, automation, and response (SOAR).</li>
</ul>
<h3>5. Back Up Data Regularly</h3>
Regularly backing up data ensures that your organization's most important data &mdash; including financial transactions, customer profiles, product information, and more &mdash;is stored in a secure, secondary location. It's important that data backups are not conducted as a one-time effort but as a regular part of your business operations. In the event of a cyber attack, up-to-date backups allow you to quickly restore any data that was lost to a virus or other malware attack.
The data that you back up should also be encrypted, both in transit and at rest, especially if it is data that is subject to compliance regulations and rules. <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-gc-link="https://teampassword.com/blog/what-is-password-encryption-and-how-much-is-enough" href="https://teampassword.com/blog/what-is-password-encryption-and-how-much-is-enough">Encrypting data</a> is one of the most effective ways to protect your data from unauthorized access.
<h2 id="strengthenyoursme">Strengthen Your SME Security with the Help of TeamPassword</h2>
The cybersecurity threat landscape is massive, diverse, and overwhelming, especially for SMEs that may not have up-to-date tooling and training in place to mitigate threats. To add insult to injury, several of the most advanced cybersecurity tools are prohibitively expensive and difficult to set up, meaning many organizations opt out entirely and leave their network vulnerable to more and more attack vectors.
Fortunately, modern SMEs are picking up on the importance of robust cybersecurity tools and comprehensive security best practices and are working to create a more holistic and affordable approach to security management. Tools like password managers have come to the fore in this refocused cybersecurity effort, giving SMEs an accessible and easy-to-implement tool for managing users, systems, and data across the organization.
TeamPassword is a leading password manager for SMEs because it balances ease of use and setup with <a rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" data-gc-link="https://teampassword.com/features" href="https://teampassword.com/features">key features</a> like robust group password management, password generation, administrative controls, and data compliance features.
Looking to get started with a low-cost, capable password manager for your SME? <a rel="follow noopener" target="_blank" data-gc-link="https://app.teampassword.com/signup?_gl=1*185nks8*_gcl_aw*R0NMLjE2OTY5MTM5MDEuQ2p3S0NBand5WTZwQmhBOUVpd0FNem1md2V3Z2lnOEhhX2hsZ0d5anE1OURScjh6bDFRRV9vVFNVN09feEhFbFFfcHozTklQWGZnaUZob0NwMFFRQXZEX0J3RQ..*_gcl_au*ODA2ODgxMDgxLjE2OTYxMzM2MjU." href="https://app.teampassword.com/signup">Try out TeamPassword today.</a>

Discover essential cybersecurity strategies tailored for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in our comprehensive blog. Learn how to fortify your business against cyber threats with expert insights and practical tips.

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a growing number of serious cybersecurity threats in the modern age, especially ...

SME Cyber Security | 5 Ways to Keep Your SME Secure

Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) face a growing number of serious cybersecurity threats in the modern age, especially as malicious actors develop more sophisticated attack vectors and techniques. According to a June 2023 study by BlackFog , 61% of small and medium-sized businesses in the U.S. and U.K. were the ...

SME Cybersecurity | 5 Ways to Keep Your SME Secure

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Password encryption is essential to store user credentials stored in a database securely. Without password encryption, anyone accessing a user database on a company's servers (including hackers) could easily view any stored passwords.
Even a strong 32-character password created using a <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">secure password generator</a> is useless without password-encryption! If someone can read your password on a server, they can use it simply by copy/pasting it&mdash;no matter how long or complicated the password might be!
Encryption scrambles your password before saving it on the server. So, if someone hacks the server, instead of finding password123, they find a random series of letters and numbers.
In this article, we're going to explore the world of password encryption, why <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/tips-and-tricks-to-create-a-strong-password">strong passwords matter</a>, and how you can practice better password management!
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">TeamPassword</a> is the password management solution for small businesses! Create, store, and share login credentials safely with employees, contractors, and clients. <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> today!
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;[Table of Contents]
<ul>
<li><a href="#understandingpasswordencryption" rel="follow">Understanding Password Encryption</a></li>
<li><a href="#howdoespasswordencryptionwork" rel="follow">How Does Password Encryption Work?</a></li>
<li><a href="#5commonpasswordencryptionmethods" rel="follow">5 Common Password Encryption Methods</a></li>
<li><a href="#whystrongpasswordsmatter" rel="follow">Why Strong Passwords Matter</a></li>
</ul>
<h2 id="understandingpasswordencryption">Understanding Password Encryption</h2>
To explain password encryption effectively, we must first grasp the language. Several terms might be unfamiliar, so here is a quick intro to password encryption terminology.
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Key: Used to lock and unlock passwords using a random string of bits. You get private and public keys that crypt and decrypt data differently, but we won't get too deep in the weeds with keys!</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Bits: A logical state with one of two possible values, including 1/0, true/false, yes/no, or on/off as typical examples.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Block (block cipher): A deterministic algorithm operating on fixed-length groups of bits, called blocks.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hash function: The algorithm that uses the key to create password encryption and decryption. A hash function is essentially a piece of code that runs every time someone saves a password or logs into an application.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hash: A random series of numbers and letters representing your password. The hash function uses your hash instead of the raw password for authentication.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt: Additional letters and numbers appended to the hash</li>
</ul>
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<h2 id="howdoespasswordencryptionwork">How Does Password Encryption Work?</h2>
When you save a new password, a hash function creates a hash version and saves that on the server.&nbsp;
Every time you log in using your password, the hash function recreates the hash to see if it matches what's stored. If the hashes match, the algorithm passes the authentication and logs you in.&nbsp;
For example:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Original password: Pa$$w0rd123</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Hashed password: 6AF1CE202340​FE71BDB914AD5357​E33A6982A63B</li>
</ul>
While this might seem secure, simple hashed passwords aren't hack-proof.
The hash function only creates a unique hash for each password, not each user. So, if multiple users have the password, Pa$$w0rd123, the hash will be exactly the same.
To overcome this encryption vulnerability, engineers salt passwords so each hash is unique, even if the passwords are identical.
<h3>How Salt Works</h3>
A salt appends a unique value of 8 bytes (16 characters) to the password before the hash function creates a hash. This way, even identical passwords are unique before the hash function.
For example:
<ul>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Two identical passwords: Pa$$w0rd123</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt value one: E1F53135E559C253</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Salt value two: 84B03D034B409D4E</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password one before hash: Pa$$w0rd123E1F53135E559C253</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password two before hash: Pa$$w0rd12384B03D034B409D4E</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password one hashed value (SHA256): 72AE25495A7981​C40622D49F9A52E4F15​65C90F048F59027BD9​C8C8900D5C3D8</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Password two hashed value (SHA256): B4B6603ABC670​967E99C7E7F1389E40​CD16E78AD38EB1468E​C2AA1E62B8BED3A</li>
</ul>
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2 id="5commonpasswordencryptionmethods">5 Common Password Encryption Methods</h2>
<h3>1. Data Encryption Standard (DES)</h3>
While applications no longer use Data Encryption Standard (DES), it's important to mention this password encryption method because of its history and influence on more secure modern standards.
IBM developed DES as a 56-bit encryption technology in the early 1970s. The NSA adopted and improved DES before it was approved worldwide as the encryption standard.
However, since the late 70s, hackers have been able to break DES encrypted passwords. In 1999, ethical hackers managed to break a DES key in under 24 hours.&nbsp;
To make DES more secure, engineers created Triple DES and later Advanced Encryption Standard (AES), which we still use today.
<h3>2. Triple DES</h3>
Triple DES uses three 56-bit keys (blocks) to create 168-bit encryption (some security experts argue that Triple DES is only 112 bits strong). Although Triple-DES is slowly being phased out, many financial institutions still use it to encrypt ATM PINs.
<h3>3. Advanced Encryption Standard (AES)</h3>
AES is the new encryption standard&mdash;trusted by the United States Government and many other prominent organizations globally. At 128 bits, AES is sufficiently secure, but most organizations prefer heavy-duty 256-bit encryption.
At <a href="https://teampassword.com/security">TeamPassword</a>, we use 256-bit encryption to store passwords, ensuring the highest levels of security for our clients. We're also a <a href="https://teampassword.com/security">secure hosting provider</a> holding multiple security accreditations.
Hackers can only break an AES encrypted password through a brute-force attack&mdash;trying password combinations to find the right one.
To counter brute-force attacks, applications will lock an account after a certain number of attempts or use tools like Google's reCAPTURE.
<h3>4. Blowfish</h3>
American cryptographer, Bruce Schneier, designed Blowfish in 1993 as an antidote to the weak DES encryption. Blowfish uses a 64-bit block and variable key length of 32 to 448 bits.
Although Blowfish is more robust than its DES predecessor, the 64-bit block is still vulnerable to attacks, most commonly birthday attacks&mdash;a cryptographic attack that exploits the mathematics behind the algorithm.
To solve Blowfish vulnerabilities, engineers created Twofish in 1998 (128-bit blocks with 256-bit keys) and Threefish in 2008 (256, 516, 1024-bit blocks with 256, 516, 1024-bit keys).
<h3>5. Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA)</h3>
RSA is one of the oldest and widely used to transfer data securely. The encryption works with two keys, two large prime numbers, and an additional auxiliary value.
Due to the complicated encrypting and decrypting process, there is no known method for breaking RSA encryption.&nbsp;
Although widely used for transferring data, RSA is slow and not suitable for password encryption.
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2 id="whystrongpasswordsmatter">Why Strong Passwords Matter</h2>
Password encryption can only prevent criminals from viewing saved credentials stored on a server&mdash;but cannot prevent hackers from guessing weak/commonly used passwords. If you <a href="https://teampassword.com/blog/colonial-pipeline-ransomware-attack-dont-reuse-passwords">reuse the same password for multiple accounts</a>, this also puts you at risk!
Encryption is most effective when users create robust, unique passwords for every account. For example, a random 32-character password with letters, numbers, and special characters hashed and salted is near impossible to guess or decode, even using a computer!
In another scenario, let's assume you have a strong 32-character password, but you use it for every account. If hackers manage to steal that password, they have access to every account using the same credentials! Your strong password is effectively useless.
<h3>Improving Your Password Management</h3>
Now that you understand password encryption and the associated vulnerabilities, you can see why strong passwords are essential.
Effective password management is crucial to protect yourself against cyberattacks or in the highly likely event of a data breach where hackers steal your credentials.
Criminals are after the low-hanging fruit&mdash;people who use weak passwords!
5 tips for creating stronger passwords:
<ol>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Create strong passwords for every account. The easiest way to do this is using a password generator. <a href="https://teampassword.com/password-generator">TeamPassword has a free password generator</a> anyone can use to create passwords from 12-32 characters using uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and special characters. We recommend creating passwords as long as the application will allow.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never create passwords shorter than eight characters, with 12 being our recommended minimum.&nbsp;</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never reuse the same password for multiple accounts.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Never create passwords with your name, family member's names, or pet's names. With social media, this information is freely available. Criminals can add those names to algorithms for brute-force attacks.</li>
<li style="font-weight: 400;" aria-level="1">Don't store passwords in digital notepads or spreadsheets. We recommend using a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">password manager like TeamPassword</a> to create and store your credentials.</li>
</ol>
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<h2>Why You Need a Password Manager like TeamPassword</h2>
We have so many accounts these days; it's almost impossible to create unique, memorable, secure passwords for each one. A password manager solves this problem.
Instead of remembering the credentials for every account, you only need to memorize the one to log into your password manager.&nbsp;
TeamPassword keeps all of your credentials safely stored and encrypted, so you never have to memorize a password again. Instead of entering your credentials, you use one of TeamPassword's browser extensions (Chrome, Firefox, and Safari) to log into accounts.
<h3>Built for Teams</h3>
TeamPassword's best feature is its ability to share credentials with team members securely. Instead of sharing passwords, you provide access through TeamPassword.&nbsp;
Employees <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">use TeamPassword</a> to log in, meaning you never share raw passwords&mdash;no more worrying about unauthorized access or sharing.
You can create groups in TeamPassword to share access with employees, clients, contractors, and freelancers. When someone no longer needs access, remove them from the group with a single click. No need to change passwords every time someone leaves a project!
<h3>Built-In Password Generator</h3>
TeamPassword features a built-in secure password manager so you can create robust passwords for every account. TeamPassword also ensures you never reuse the same credentials so that you won't fall victim to credential stuffing attacks!
With a built-in password generator, you can change passwords regularly, and TeamPassword will update the new credentials for all users!
<h3>Monitor Login Activity</h3>
TeamPassword's activity log keeps track of every action across all of your accounts&mdash;logins, password changes, new team members, sharing access, and more.
You can also set up email notifications for all TeamPassword actions so that you can react fast to any suspicious activity.
<h3>Get Your Free TeamPassword Trial</h3>
Password encryption is not enough to protect your business from password vulnerabilities! You need a robust password manager like TeamPassword to create, store, and share credentials securely.
&rlm;&rlm;&lrm; &lrm;
<a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial">Sign up for a 14-day free trial</a> and let TeamPassword secure your company's digital assets.

Password encryption is the number one component of password security. TeamPassword encrypts passwords with state-of-the-art technology to keep passwords safe.

Password encryption is the number one component of password security. TeamPassword encrypts passwords with state-of-the-art technology to keep ...

What is password encryption and how much is enough?

What is password encryption and how does it work?

In an increasingly digital world, we&rsquo;re switching more and more of our daily lives over to the Internet. While this brave new world is exciting and convenient, it&rsquo;s not without its problems.&nbsp;
The issue of unsafe passwords has been around for a while. But have you ever thought about where and how to store them?
Most of us have several passwords, and we&rsquo;re encouraged to never duplicate them. Some people simply write them all down on a piece of paper &mdash; which is fraught with danger. But others store their passwords electronically.
As you&rsquo;re about to find out, not all electronic systems of password storage are <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/10-things-you-need-to-do-to-keep-passwords-safe" target="_blank" rel="noopener">safe</a>. Here are five of the most dangerous ways to store your passwords.&nbsp;
But before we begin:
Avoid bad idea passwords and dangerous storage methods with TeamPassword. This advanced <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/why-you-need-a-password-manager" target="_blank" rel="noopener">password manager</a> features a selection of security features, including password encryption and two-step verification. Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" rel="follow">free trial</a> today.&nbsp;

<h2>1. Email</h2>
Have you ever emailed yourself a password to ensure you&rsquo;re never without it? Great idea, right? Actually, emailing yourself your passwords is a really bad idea, and here&rsquo;s why:
<ul>
<li>Emails are usually sent in plain text. Without encryption, your passwords are susceptible if your email account is ever compromised.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Unsafe passwords sent via email often pass through several systems and servers. There&rsquo;ll also be a copy in your sent folder. If someone else can access your email account, your passwords become vulnerable.&nbsp;</li>
<li>Some email platforms store data locally on a drive. If someone steals your computer, phone, or tablet, your passwords become vulnerable.</li>
</ul>
A really bad idea for passwords is to send them via email &mdash; either to yourself or someone else. <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/blog/have-i-been-hacked-how-to-know-for-sure" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Hackers </a>and scammers are more resourceful than ever, and they can often steal your information before you realize you&rsquo;ve been compromised.&nbsp;
It&rsquo;s tempting to send a quick email to yourself containing unsafe passwords when you sign up for new online services. For the sake of an extra minute or two, don&rsquo;t give fraudsters easy access to your accounts. Use an encrypted email vault to safeguard all your passwords.&nbsp;
<h2>2. Online Documents</h2>
A lot of people like the convenience of saving crucial information using online document systems such as Google Docs. But this is a bad idea for passwords, as these systems are designed for text &mdash; not sensitive data.
Yes, a password might protect your online document manager from unauthorized access. But what happens if that password is compromised? Many document software platforms don&rsquo;t offer encryption, two-step verification, or even the most basic security measures.&nbsp;
If you use online documents regularly, you&rsquo;re probably accessing your account on a regular basis &mdash; across several devices. What happens if you step away for a moment to buy a coffee, speak to a friend, or use the bathroom?
A criminal can access an unattended online document platform in seconds. And if this happens, it doesn't take a lot of effort to steal your unsafe passwords.&nbsp;
<h2>3. Instant Messaging Service</h2>
Instant messaging services provide us with a convenient way of staying in touch with friends and family. WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Snapchat were designed for private online conversations &mdash; not for storing passwords.
People who store their passwords on these apps do so because they believe they&rsquo;re fully encrypted. While that&rsquo;s often the case, it&rsquo;s important to remember that instant messaging services are often left open and operating in the background.
Imagine someone picks up your phone while you&rsquo;re not paying attention. If you left your device unlocked, that person would be able to access your password in seconds.
It&rsquo;s always a bad idea when passwords are stored on instant messaging services. By nature, these apps are designed to operate in the background &mdash; alerting you when someone sends a message. And because they&rsquo;re open, anyone with the device in their hand might be able to steal your unprotected passwords.&nbsp;
Don&rsquo;t fall into the trap of utilizing bad ideas for password storage. Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free trial</a> with TeamPassword, and give your unsafe passwords the protection they require.
<h2>4. Online Note-taker</h2>
Developers design online note-takers for everyday lists and reminders. While they&rsquo;re great for creating to-do and shopping lists, they&rsquo;re not so good for storing unsafe passwords.&nbsp;
An app such as Apple Notes is easy to use, accessible, and convenient. But it doesn&rsquo;t offer two-step authentication, encryption, or any sophisticated form of security.&nbsp;
If your computer or mobile device is unlocked, your saved passwords are vulnerable. In many cases, a criminal would simply need to open the app to gain access to your sensitive information.&nbsp;
OK, you might be extra vigilant when it comes to keeping your phone or computer locked. But hackers are resourceful, and they&rsquo;re very good at discovering unsafe passwords. Once they access your phone, any passwords stored in your note-taking app become vulnerable.&nbsp;
<h2>5. On a Non-Password-Protected Device</h2>
Of all the bad ideas for passwords, storing them on non-password-protected devices is about the worst. You might think that your tablet or laptop never leaves your side. But if your device is ever stolen, you&rsquo;ve given the criminals the easiest possible opportunity to access your saved passwords.&nbsp;
If you&rsquo;re determined to store passwords on a physical device &mdash; which is never a good idea &mdash; make sure the device password is a complex combination of letters, numbers, and symbols. And it should contain at least 12 characters.&nbsp;
<h2>Use TeamPassword for Extra Protection</h2>
Remembering and safely storing a dozen or more passwords isn&rsquo;t a simple task. By locking away all your passwords in a digital vault, you get maximum protection and easy access.&nbsp;
TeamPassword offers a range of <a href="https://www.teampassword.com/security" target="_blank" rel="noopener">security features</a> &mdash; designed to keep your passwords safe. Offering two-step authentication and encryption, this powerful protection system solves the problem of unsafe passwords with ease. Sign up for a <a href="https://app.teampassword.com/dashboard#signup/testimonial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">free trial</a> to see these exciting features for yourself.&nbsp;

Storing passwords inappropriately can leave you open to fraud and theft. Avoid these storage methods at all costs. | TeamPassword Blog

Storing passwords inappropriately can leave you open to fraud and theft. Avoid these storage methods at all costs. ...

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