Over the last few years you’ve probably heard all about the importance of using strong, unique passwords for your online accounts. But have you actually practiced doing so? Perhaps you aren’t worried about a data breach or hackers targeting you, because they only go after big companies, right?
Wrong. Very wrong. In fact, cybercriminals target thousands of small businesses and individuals on a daily basis. But whether you’re running a Fortune 500 company, a small business, or if you’re an entrepreneur or a contractor working from a home office, there is one thing all cybersecurity experts recommend and agree on — using unique passwords for all online accounts.
A strong, unique password is a strong deterrent to cybercriminals, but unfortunately, many organizations still fail to encourage their use. The main hindrance is that it can be difficult to remember different strings of random letters and numbers for the multitude of accounts we all have. It’s so much easier to simply use a few words or a phrase that’s easy to remember, for each and every account.
But that is exactly what cybercriminals count on.
How Strong, Unique Passwords for Each Account Help Prevent Data Breaches
While hackers can employ a number of sophisticated methods for acquiring usernames and passwords, such as malware, phishing emails, and keyloggers, the old-fashioned way of simply guessing still works.
Hackers will run a program that will try thousands of commonly used passwords per second, and often manage to access a computer network or account in this manner. And if the same password is used for multiple accounts, then a hacker now has access to a significant amount of personal information and sensitive data.
A cybercriminal can cause serious financial trouble or steal the identity of an individual, or steal thousands of data records from companies.
But a single, strong, unique password for each account can prevent cybercrime and protect your data and personal information.
Many cybercriminals manage to acquire at least one username and password via a phishing email. In fact, phishing accounts for 90% of all data breaches. But if an individual were to use different passwords for each account, the cybercriminal would only have succeeded in infiltrating one account, rather than all of them.
What is a Strong Password?
A strong password is considered to be a string of at least 10 random upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters such as a question mark. Many organizations now require you to create passwords conforming to these guidelines, which is good. However, many still use the same strong password for multiple accounts, which is definitely not recommended.
So How Do I Remember All These Passwords?
Many computers come equipped with a password manager, or you can download password manager apps that keep track of all your passwords for you. You will, of course, need to at least remember a unique password for the actual password manager.
In an organization, keeping track of individual and group-shared passwords can be a more difficult task. Thankfully, password managers exist for teams as well. Many businesses utilize a team password manager aptly named TeamPassword, a fast, easy, and secure way for team members to share and access logins and passwords.
Ideal for teams of all sizes, TeamPassword helps to ensure a consistent flow of productivity while also ensuring protection of valuable and sensitive data. Visit TeamPassword today to learn more about how this intuitive password manager can help you.
