How to Securely Share Passwords With Your Team

Sharing passwords with coworkers requires a higher level of security to avoid data breaches and unauthorized access to sensitive information.

Teams need a safe way to share their passwords without disrupting their workflow. In a world online, not having the password to an account can mean being unable to work!

How to Securely Share Passwords With Your Team

1. Use a Reputable Password Manager

Using a reputable password manager designed for team collaboration is one of the most secure ways to share passwords.

Why?

Password managers offer robust encryption and access controls, and allow teammates to access the passwords while remaining in the secured environment.

With a password manager, you can create a centralized vault for all your team's passwords, making it easy to share and manage access on a need-to-know basis.

Why It's Secure:

• Password managers use strong encryption algorithms to protect your data, making it virtually impossible for unauthorized parties to decipher passwords.
• Access controls in password managers allow you to specify who can view, edit, or share specific passwords, ensuring that sensitive credentials are only available to the right team members.
• Password managers often offer features like two-factor authentication (2FA) and secure sharing mechanisms, adding an extra layer of protection to your team's password vault.

2. Implement Role-Based Access Control

Adopting a role-based access control (RBAC) system within your password manager provides an additional security layer. By assigning different roles and access privileges to team members based on their job responsibilities, you can limit the exposure of sensitive credentials. Only those who require access to specific passwords will have the permission to view and use them.

Why It's Secure:

• RBAC ensures that team members only have access to the passwords they need to perform their duties, reducing the attack surface and potential insider threats.
• By compartmentalizing access, the impact of a compromised account is limited, as attackers cannot access the entire password vault.

3. Enable Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)

Enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) adds an extra layer of security to your password manager. With 2FA, team members must provide a second authentication factor (like a one-time code sent to their phone) in addition to their master password, making it significantly more challenging for unauthorized individuals to gain access.

Why It's Secure:

• 2FA prevents unauthorized access, even if someone discovers or steals a team member's master password.
• It reduces the risk of successful brute-force attacks on the password manager.

4. Long, unique passwords for every account

What's the point of Role-based Access (only give someone what they need) if a password is reused? 

Use your password manager's built-in password generator to generate long and unique passwords for every account. 

If you need to memorize the password, we recommend using a passphrase. 

Why It's Secure:

• If a service you use gets breached, your password could be stolen. Using unique passwords for each account contains the damage. 
• Teammates won't inadvertently have the password to an account they shouldn't

5. Educate Team Members about Password Security

Provide ongoing education and training to your team about password security best practices. Emphasize the importance of using strong, unique passwords, avoiding password reuse, and never sharing passwords through insecure channels.

Why It's Secure:

• Well-informed team members are more likely to follow security protocols and maintain good password hygiene.
• Increased awareness helps prevent accidental security breaches and reduces the likelihood of falling victim to phishing attempts.

Approach cybersecurity training in a way that de-escalates feelings of overwhelm or incompetence. This video of an artist explaining basic cybersecurity is a great place to start. 

In conclusion, securely sharing passwords with your team is crucial to maintaining the confidentiality of sensitive information. By using a reputable password manager with RBAC and 2FA features, implementing password rotation policies, and educating team members, you can significantly enhance the security of your team's password management practices. These measures will help safeguard your valuable data and protect your organization from potential cybersecurity threats.

The Challenges of Sharing Passwords 

Individuals working with teams know there are challenges involved with sharing passwords, even though it's essential to get projects completed.

Your team needs a way to provide those passwords to others authorized to gain access to work on jobs and projects and prevent others who aren't from logging in.

Many industries face this security concern and need innovative solutions to solve this problem. Some industries that need to share passwords include the following.

• Tech companies
• Digital marketing agencies
• Software design and development companies 
• Creative agencies

For example, a marketing team working remotely on a project together needs access to the information to complete projects; however, the project contains sensitive information and data about a client.

You don't want someone to gain access to this information but still have a user-friendly method for providing the passwords.

In this instance, you need a reliable and secure method for passing along passwords to team members without sacrificing user-friendly methods.

Security Concerns 

A top security concern should be sharing passwords safely. You can have great IT security and still have weak points within your company because of user errors.

For example, some coworkers write passwords or send them via text or apps. This is a dangerous practice that can spell disaster.

Sharing passwords through any physical or verbal means may also leave this information subject to theft.

Without using a secure vehicle for sharing passwords, cybercriminals have the advantage, and they can hack your team or private account.

Some of the worst data breaches of all time have happened to seemingly secure companies and work teams. Don't let this happen to your company or workgroup.

Password Sharing Methods to Avoid

1. Email Communication

• Email communication is not secure and can be easily intercepted or accessed by unauthorized individuals, leading to potential password leaks.
• Email is transmitted over the internet in plain text, making it vulnerable to interception at various points along the transmission path. Additionally, email accounts can be compromised through phishing attacks or weak passwords, giving attackers access to the password-sharing emails. Once intercepted or accessed by unauthorized parties, the passwords become exposed and can be used to gain unauthorized access to sensitive accounts and data.

2. Messaging Apps

• Messaging apps may lack end-to-end encryption, making passwords vulnerable to interception during transit or storage.
• While some messaging apps offer encryption, not all of them provide end-to-end encryption. Without end-to-end encryption, the passwords shared through these apps could be intercepted by hackers, service providers, or other parties with access to the communication channels or servers. Moreover, messages containing passwords might be saved on the devices used for communication, leaving them susceptible to unauthorized access if the device is lost or stolen.

3. Written/Physical Notes

• Sharing passwords through written or physical notes increases the risk of loss, theft, or accidental exposure, compromising security.
• Physical notes can easily be misplaced, lost, or stolen, providing a direct route to the sensitive information they contain. Additionally, leaving passwords written on sticky notes or notepads in plain sight can lead to accidental exposure if unauthorized individuals have access to the physical workspace.

4. Shared Spreadsheets or Documents

• Shared spreadsheets or documents can be accessed by multiple individuals, increasing the potential for unauthorized access to passwords.
• Storing passwords in shared spreadsheets or documents without proper access controls means that anyone with access to the file can view the passwords. It becomes challenging to track who has accessed or modified the passwords, making it difficult to identify potential security breaches or insider threats.

5. Verbal Communication

• Sharing passwords verbally is prone to human error and can be easily overheard, leading to unauthorized access.
• Verbal communication of passwords introduces the risk of mistakes, such as mishearing or forgetting the password. Additionally, sharing passwords verbally in open or public spaces can expose them to eavesdroppers, compromising security.

6. Using Personal Accounts

• Sharing passwords through personal accounts (e.g., personal email) lacks proper access controls and jeopardizes sensitive data.
• Using personal accounts for sharing passwords does not offer the same level of security as business or team-oriented platforms. Personal accounts might not have multi-factor authentication or proper audit trails, making it difficult to monitor and control access to shared passwords.

7. Plain Text Messages

• Sending passwords in plain text over any platform exposes them to interception or unauthorized access.
• Plain text messages do not provide any encryption, meaning the passwords are transmitted in clear, readable text. This exposes them to potential interception by hackers or malicious software, especially when transmitted over unsecured networks.

8. Generic or Weak Passwords

• Sharing generic or weak passwords among team members increases the risk of unauthorized access and compromises overall security.
• Generic or weak passwords are easy targets for brute-force attacks and social engineering attempts. If shared among team members, attackers who gain access to one password could potentially compromise multiple accounts.

9. No Access Revocation Mechanism

• Failing to revoke access to shared passwords when no longer needed leaves credentials exposed and vulnerable to misuse.
• As team members change roles or leave the organization, it's essential to revoke their access to shared passwords. Without proper access management, former employees or individuals who no longer require access might retain it, increasing the risk of unauthorized access.

10. No Password Rotation Policy

• Neglecting to change shared passwords regularly allows potential intruders more time to exploit any discovered credentials.
• Regular password rotation is essential for reducing the window of opportunity for attackers. If passwords are rarely changed, the risk of unauthorized access increases over time, especially if an insider or external threat manages to gain access to the shared passwords.

11. Shared Web Browsers

• Using shared web browsers with saved passwords exposes sensitive information to all users of that browser profile.
• When multiple individuals share a web browser with saved passwords, anyone using the browser can access the stored credentials. This lack of access controls can lead to unauthorized use of the passwords and compromise the security of the accounts they protect.

To maintain a robust security posture, it is crucial for teams to avoid these risky password-sharing methods. Instead, adopt secure password management tools, enforce strict access controls, and educate team members about the importance of password security.

How to Get Started 

The best way to get started is to work with a proven leader in the field of password protection. Reach out to TeamPassword to find out how they can provide you and your team with the tools and security you need to avoid data breaches and leaks, either from sharing passwords or user error.

Get a competitive service that hashes, salts, and encrypts your sensitive passwords and then transmits them securely where no one but the intended party can have access.

Proven Results 

TeamPassword provides users with a high level of security and encryption to prevent others from gaining access to your work platforms or data files.

They provide a customized solution for teams in all levels of business to allow them to quickly, safely, and securely share passwords to only those individuals who are authorized and absolutely no one else.

To get more information or details about this essential solution for teams and projects, check out the product tour on the website. You can also get access to 2-step verification, unique passwords, activity and logging, and email alerts all on one streamlined platform that makes working securely with other team members easier and safe when you sign up for the free trial.