I Have Enough Passwords to Remember to Forget.

Let’s be honest, passwords are annoying. These days, we need a password or PIN everywhere. We have so many that we can’t keep track of them all. We forget to update them; and when we do, it’s difficult to come up with effective ones that we can still remember.

While we may find them annoying, and even take them for granted, it is important to remember why passwords are important, often the first (and possibly only) defence against intrusion. They protect personal information – information we don’t want anyone and everyone to know. In our personal lives, this means financial information, health data, and private documents. In a professional context, this may include anything considered crucial to the success of the organisation: trade secrets, financial data, intellectual property, customer lists, etc.

Although passwords may be at the forefront of a security interface, it is the user (or employees) on the front line with the control. At NETconsent our software can allow you to educate your employees on ensuring they understand and know how to handle important corporate data, as well as confirming they acknowledge password policies and comply with them. Uninformed users are your weakest link, and greatest risk (plugin over).

So, here are a few best practices when it comes to password security that you can take away with you for both personal and professional scenarios.

• Don’t re-use passwords across sites.
• Never store passwords in plain text on your computer.
• Never use your username, real name, birthday, phone number, or any other easily identifiable information in your password.
• Never use an easy keyboard combination like ABCD or QWERTY.
• Careful with answers to security questions (hint) your mother’s maiden name is not that tough to track down.
• Never use the same password across multiple email accounts.
• Always use the 2 step verification wherever possible.

I know everyone (including myself) has been guilty of bad practice when it comes to passwords but hopefully, these tips above can remind us to be more aware. Please feel free to comment any tips you may have or experiences with best practices when it comes to passwords!