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Unlock The Power of Secure Password Management – 6 Best Practices to Secure Your Business

Accqua hacker hidden password

Account passwords are among the most heavily traded digital commodities within the cybercriminal underworld. Around 80% of cyber breaches feature compromised account credentials, making password management a vital consideration for businesses seeking to fortify their digital estate.

Your account credentials are the keys to your digital assets. In the wrong hands, these vital pieces of information could be used to harm your reputation, extort your business for financial gain, or steal your business’s intellectual property. Fortunately, managing password security isn’t rocket science, and there are a few simple steps you can take to prevent your account credentials from falling into the hands of a malicious actor.

As a leading IT support provider to organizations in San Luis Obispo and California’s Central coast, Accqua IT solutions is committed to helping businesses thrive with the help of secure, optimized and fully maintained IT. Cybercrime is on the rise, both here in California, and across the country, with credential theft helping to fuel much of this increase. To help you secure your accounts against malicious infiltration, this article provides 6 password management and authentication best practices you can use to keep cybercriminals securely away from your sensitive information.

Create Complex, Alphanumeric Passwords

Encourage your users to create complex passwords that are easy for them to remember, but would be hard for a hacker to guess – or hack using a password cracking tool. Passwords should contain a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, as well as numbers and special characters.

Advice varies on whether it’s advisable to use recognizable phrases, with some saying it makes accounts more susceptible to “dictionary attacks.” In our view, incorporating phrases into your passwords is acceptable, as long as the terms used would be hard for a hacker to guess; they shouldn’t link back to you or your business in any way.

The Longer the Better

Some outdated password guides prescribe a certain password length. 8-10 characters is a common one. However, the National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) now advocates for the use of longer passwords, up to 64 characters or more, as these are far more difficult to guess, or to crack using “brute force’ hacking methods.

Unless you’re using password management software, you may want to use passphrases as a way to create long, complex passwords that are also memorable. Passphrases combine words, phrases and numbers in a sequence, and are far easier to remember than random assortments of letters, numbers and punctuation marks.

Focus on Password Quality, Not Regular Password Changes

For many years, it was considered good practice to change passwords periodically. This might make logical sense, as a password that has a “use window” of say 3 months or so, is surely less valuable to a hacker, right?

In theory yes, but in practice it’s been found that frequent mandated password changes can actually have a detrimental effect on account security. This is due to the fact that users may be encouraged to set shorter, simpler passwords that are easier to remember if frequent changes cause memorization issues. Some cybersecurity analysts also noted a trend where users simply made an incremental alteration with each password change, such as increasing the number at the password’s end by one each time.

By prioritizing password quality and secure authentication mechanisms rather that frequent password changes, you’ll avoid fostering poor password practices in your business.

Password Managers: A Friend for San Luis Obispo and the Central Coasts Businesses

Password managers are software tools that help users generate, store and manage account credentials across a variety of online accounts and services. These tools store all account credentials in an encrypted central vault, and auto-populate passwords into login pages, allowing users to access their accounts without having to manually enter their details each time.

Users are only required to memorize a single “master password,” making these convenient tools if your workforce makes use of a multitude of online services. Passwords generated by these platforms are highly randomized, making them extremely robust against hacking attempts, and the systems can be either cloud-based or locally hosted to suit your privacy requirements.

Use Password Strength Testers

Password strength testing tools are applications or online services that grade the effectiveness of passwords. They analyze a variety of factors relating to credential resilience, including the password’s length, complexity, and its likely resistance to the most common hacking techniques. Passwords are commonly graded on a scale ranging from “weak” to “very strong,” or variations thereof. 

Many online services and cloud-based applications feature password strength testing capabilities. If any of your online accounts don’t feature this facility, encourage users to use a reputable password strength testing tool, and require that all account password’s achieve a rating of “strong” as a minimum. Remember, although you may be based local to San Luis Obispo or other localities in the US, the strength of your passwords form a barrier of defense against global cyber threats working across the internet. 

Enable Multi-factor Authentication

We’ve saved the best till last! Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is the single most effective weapon in your account security armory.

Multi-factor authentication is an advanced account authentication mechanism that requires users to submit at least two forms of identifying information when accessing an application, account or other online system. Normally one of the required forms of verification will be a traditional account password, while the other will vary according to the nature of the system. This additional identifier might be:

· Something You Know. This might be the answer to a security question, or a secondary pin established when the account was set up.

· Something You Have. This form of digital ID leverages a secondary device or account that only the authorized accountholder would have in their possession, or have access to. This might involve sending a passcode to a user-registered smartphone, authenticator app, or email address.

· Something You Are. This form of verification requires the user to submit biometric data, most commonly in the form or a fingerprint or a face scan. Activating this capability does of course depend on the nature of the equipment you’re using to access your accounts, but it does provide an authentication mechanism that is near impossible for a hacker to spoof.

MFA provides a robust secondary line of defense to your accounts, and can even prevent unauthorized access in cases where your account password has been compromised by a bad actor. Consult with your IT support provider about your options for implementing MFA across your accounts and devices today, if you haven’t already deployed this vital security tool.

Final Thoughts

Careless and negligent password practices can leave corporate accounts wide open to exploitation by online criminals. By incorporating these 6 password best practices into your wider security strategy, you’ll help to secure your online accounts and foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness in your organization. Across the globe, cybercriminals are hunting for passwords and businesses in San Luis Obispo are no exception! 

Stay tuned to our next piece, where we’ll examine the benefits of using password managers in greater detail.

Accqua IT Solutions – Elevating Central Coast Businesses with Tailored IT Services in San Luis Obispo

Nestled in the heart of San Luis Obispo, Accqua IT Solutions offers premier IT management, support, and cutting-edge solutions tailored for businesses throughout California’s picturesque Central Coast Region. Our dedicated team is proud to serve as a beacon of innovation, enhancing productivity and fortifying cybersecurity for enterprises along this stunning stretch of coastline.

Partner with Accqua to unlock the true potential of IT as a driving force for growth within your San Luis Obispo enterprise. Our friendly and seasoned experts specialize in crafting tech solutions to meet your unique needs. Contact us today to discover how we can contribute to the success of your business amidst the scenic beauty of the Central Coast.