Strong credentials protect your business information and strengthen your cybersecurity...tips to build good passwords!
Good passwords are a business necessity
We all use passwords throughout the day. From logging into our network, running payroll, accessing encrypted data or accessing cloud data, we deal with this sensitive information all day. We log in so automatically that we tend to take for granted the importance of what those credentials are protecting.
Access credentials are a critically important piece of information infrastructure, and in many cases they are one of the ONLY things which separate our critical data from the Internet (and unwanted access by third parties). So how do you build a good password?
Use passphrases - use strong (8 or more characters), complex (upper case, lower case, numbers, special characters) passphrases…do this by converting a short phrase such as “I love to rock climb” into the complex passphrase “!L0V32r0ckclImb!!&”
Change passwords on a regular basis…quarterly on critical passwords
Avoid using your name, birth dates, or other fixed information which would be found in social media as passwords
Avoid a written list - use a highly secure online documentation tool like MyGlue which requires mutlifactor authentication
Avoid using the same passwords for numerous business services
ALWAYS use multifactor authentication like DUO or Google Authenticator or one-time passwords when they are available
For business critical services (banking, payroll, accounting, etc.) use IP address whitelisting if available to only allow access from your business locations
Remember just how critical these credentials are!
Don’t ever forget just what your credentials are protecting, and what a headache it would be for critical data access to become compromised. For assistance with securing your business IT environment, contact us at 405-348-1192..
