In order to keep your company as safe as possible, you’ll need to take every precaution you can when it comes to protecting your company data. Even a minor data breach could cause a significant lapse in revenue, and it’s not impossible for the scenario to result in the exposure of your trade secrets.

So, there’s a handful of steps you need to take when it comes to proper enterprise password management.

Not quite sure how to begin? We’ve got all the info you need. Let’s explore everything you should keep in mind. 

Using The Same Password for Multiple Accounts

Unfortunately, this is one of the most commonly-seen mistakes when it comes to business password management. Many entrepreneurs tend to use the same password across multiple platforms simply for the sake of being able to remember their login credentials.

While this may make things more convenient in the short term, you’re putting yourself and your company at significant risk. This issue becomes even more serious if you also use the same email or username across different platforms.

Instead, you should use a unique password for each account that requires login information. 

Using Simple or Easy-to-Guess Passwords

People are often warned that their passwords need to be a certain level of complexity in order to be sufficiently secure. Interestingly, most users assume that this is because someone would be able to sit down and guess their login info.

This isn’t an impossible scenario, but there’s a much greater risk at play here— brute-force hacking.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, brute-force hacking is a method that cybercriminals use to guess a user’s password. As the name suggests, it involves hundreds or sometimes thousands of login attempts until the correct password has been found.

It’s important to note that these individuals often use compromised computers during their attempt to gain access to an account, so they have far more than the conventional two or three incorrect attempts the most platforms impose.

As a result, simple passwords put you at a far greater risk of having your account compromised. 

While it may seem difficult to manage a large number of passwords across different platforms, making use of a quality password manager can help you accomplish this task in the most secure way possible. 

Improper Password Security

Password won’t do you much good if it’s written down on a sheet of paper that anybody can access. Similarly, it’s highly recommended to only provide access to an employee if that data is directly relevant to their role.

For example, there’s no reason an entry-level employee should have the same level of access as a manager would.

You also run the risk of having your workers exchange passwords with each other if you don’t properly train your team about data security. A common scenario could include one employee messaging another and asking them to use their login info while they’re out of the office.

Not only does this provide unauthorized access to the inappropriate party, but this password could be compromised by other individuals if those employees do not properly secure their devices. 

Foregoing Multi-Factor Authentication

Multi-factor authentication is an additional layer of protection that provides a significant amount of extra security. Put simply, it requires extra information after you input your password before you can access your account.

Depending on what type of platform you’re using, you may receive an email or text message that has a code you’ll need to input. In other scenarios, you may be asked to provide additional personal info.

Some platforms even allow you to customize what type of information you’ll need to provide during multi-factor authentication.

While this method isn’t entirely foolproof, it goes a long way toward keeping your company’s data secure.

It also comes with the added benefit of you being alerted when there’s a login attempt that you’re not responsible for. For instance, if you receive an email asking for a verification code and you didn’t attempt to log into that platform, you’ll know that someone is trying to access your account, and you should change your password immediately. 

Storing Passwords in Your Web Browser

This is an additional vulnerability situation where convenience is often chosen over security.

Most web browsers ask you if you’d like to store your password after you enter it for the first time. Many people decide to do so simply so they don’t need to remember this information in the future.

Unfortunately, hackers always target vulnerabilities and web browsers so that they can exploit them as thoroughly as possible before they’re patched.

One of the most common results is a cybercriminal getting access to a wide array of usernames and passwords. While many of these could be relatively useless to them, such as to a social media account, login credentials for business accounts often prove to be immensely profitable information for them to access.

Instead, it’s recommended that you decline to let your browser store this information.

It Can Seem Complicated to Incorporate Proper Enterprise Password Management

But the above information will make the process far smoother.

From here, you’ll be able to ensure that your enterprise password management practices are sufficient enough to protect your company’s sensitive data from falling into the wrong hands. 

Want to learn more about what we have to offer? Feel free to reach out to us today and see how we can help.