Using weak passwords is risky. So is using the same password across different services.
If you do this, it means that once somebody has your email address and password, they’ll find it incredibly easy to access your other accounts.
This can wreak havoc on your digital life and within your business. And the damage can spill over into serious real-world inconvenience too.
This is especially true if identity theft is involved, or if they’ve managed to break into your social media or bank accounts.
Data breaches happen every day. And once your passwords and email addresses are out there, you never know whose hands they’ll end up in (many get sold on something called the
Dark Web, a kind of hidden internet for criminals).
But what can you do to keep your passwords safe and your digital accounts secure?
Use a password manager
Instead of scratching your head to come up with a new password for each account, use a password manager to automatically generate long, random, strong passwords.
It’ll also remember them for you. You only need to remember one password… the master password to access the password manager.
The best password managers let you customize how long your passwords are, and what kind of characters they should include. And will keep them 100% safe while still giving you easy access across all your devices.
We can set you up with an Enterprise Password Manager (the one we use) and train you and your team on how to best use it – simply get in touch!
Turn on multi-factor authentication (MFA)
As well as setting up a password manager, turn on multi factor authentication (MFA) wherever possible. When you log in to your accounts, you’ll need to enter an additional security code as second means of keeping your account secure.
These codes can be sent to you by text message or email. Better still, you can set up an authentication app on your phone that refreshes with unique codes every few seconds. Some applications also support a hardware security key that you plug into your computer or that displays security codes that rotate every 60 seconds.
Multi-factor authentication is available on most software and is considered a highly effective tool against hackers.
Even if they’ve got your login details they can’t get in without your phone.
We recommend you implement this for all apps your staff use.
After an initial bit of discomfort, they’ll soon get used to it. We can guide you and your team through the whole process – just give us a call!