Consider a typical day at a digital marketing agency. How many client and company accounts do you think you log into over the course of a day? Ten? Twenty? Amongst all the employees at a digital marketing agency, there could be hundreds of logins each day into private accounts. And that’s why password protection for digital agencies should be a top priority and not an afterthought.
Unfortunately, many digital marketing agencies fail to follow password management best practices. Perhaps the most concerning example of poor password management is that nearly 70% of all Americans use the same password for multiple accounts, at home and at work. And when you consider that over 80% of all data breaches result from poor password security, the potential for a data breach in a digital marketing agency is monumental.
For the safety and reputation of your company, as well as the security of the many client accounts accessed on a daily basis, password protection for digital agencies is a critical necessity. Thankfully, password management best practices are fairly easy to follow, and can significantly reduce the risk of a data breach.
Password Management Best Practices
Hackers and cybercriminals don’t always choose random targets, and they don’t just target large corporations as the media might make it seem. Instead, they target smaller businesses where the chances of a successful cyberattack are high. Digital marketing agencies are at particular risk and a common target due to the high number of accounts a hacker might be able to access. Hackers are relying on employees not following password management best practices. Don’t make it easy for them.
Strong, Unique Passwords for Each Account
The first defense against a major data breach is using strong, unique passwords for each account. That way, even if one account is breached, the hacker will not have the password to access additional accounts. However, it is also important to realize that even user-generated passwords can be vulnerable — in fact, a Deloitte study revealed that over 90% of user-generated passwords are still vulnerable to cyberattacks.
So how can digital marketing agencies combat cyber threats? Simply by using a password manager to generate highly secure, encrypted passwords that help keep your accounts and critical data safe. More on using password managers in a bit. First, consider the next important step in password protection for digital agencies.
Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
You may have experienced 2FA already with some of your own personal accounts. But by enabling two-factor authentication on as many work accounts as possible, you can add an extra layer of password protection for digital agencies. Accounts enabled with 2FA make data much more secure and are a major deterrent to hackers.
Understandably, employees who aren’t apt to change their passwords much probably aren’t going to enjoy the extra login step required by 2FA either. But when used in conjunction with a strong password, 2FA offers additional protection against other types of password attacks such as social engineering and phishing attempts as well.
Don’t Share Passwords with Anyone
Another important step in ensuring strong password protection for digital agencies is for all employees to avoid sharing passwords. Each employee should have their own unique password for every login or app. This makes it easier for IT admins to keep a good handle on security, and also ensures that only those who are authorized can access an account.
Do Not Access Private Accounts Using Public Wi-Fi
Much of today’s workforce consists of hybrid and remote workers. Digital marketers working from home must take care to ensure that their Wi-Fi network is secure and that their systems and software are updated. Likewise, employees working in the field or while out on a lunch break must avoid using public Wi-Fi to log into accounts. It is too easy for hackers and cybercriminals to hijack data being sent over a public network.
Change Passwords on a Scheduled Basis
IT experts say it is a good idea to change passwords every 3 months. Doing so serves two purposes:
- It increases password protection for digital agencies.
- It can help prevent a data breach if a password was discovered but an account has not yet been accessed.
Changing passwords often can cut off access to accounts by cybercriminals that have your password. If you suspect a device or an account has been compromised, change your password immediately.
Use a Password Manager
As we mentioned earlier, using a password manager serves a multitude of benefits. For starters, it eliminates the need for employees to attempt to remember a number of unique passwords. Password managers work by generating strong, unique passwords for each account, which are then stored in an encrypted account. Employees then need only remember one password to access the information in the password manager, which subsequently grants entry to the desired account.
Additionally, password managers are much more adept at generating strong passwords, using a long string of random upper and lower case letters, numbers, and symbols, as opposed to words that make passwords weaker.
Password managers also make it easy to change passwords for multiple accounts as often as you’d like. That means you can have all your employee’s passwords changed without causing a ripple in productivity while still adhering to password management best practices.
How TeamPassword Can Help
TeamPassword is a business-oriented password manager specially designed to solve many of the security threats that small businesses and digital marketing agencies face daily. The biggest challenge, of course, is managing passwords and providing secure access to team members. TeamPassword solves these challenges and more with flexible password management to suit the size of your teams and your business. Protect your agency today with TeamPassword's free 14-day trial!
