Wednesday, December 16, 2015
Cyber threats are growing in volume and sophistication, and company employees are often the weak link within company defences. The increased presence of cyber threats has amplified the necessity of password hygiene from a best practice to a serious security mandate.
The survey revealed even more alarming statistics in this Password Hygiene Survey (Infographic):
1.54 percent of respondents overlap their personal and work passwords. The consequence? If you are exposed at home or at work, you are exposed in both.
2.88 percent of respondents record their work passwords in an unsecured location. The consequence? No password is secret if it is stored where it can be easily accessed by bad actors.
3.79 percent of respondents are required to change their work passwords less than once a month. The consequence? This gives the criminals more time to find and exploit vulnerabilities.
The effects of cyber attacks can be harmful and long-lasting. These eight easy-to-follow tips can help protect your and your company’s valuable information:
1.The longer the password the better.
2.Do not use passwords that are simply keyboard patterns or easily guessable.
3.Make sure to reset temporary passwords on newly created accounts.
4.Use different passwords for every application.
5.Use a password manager.
6.Use multi factor authentication whenever possible.
7.Avoid shared accounts.
8.Passwords should be treated like underwear - changed often.
“But wait, there’s more!” Here are two extra tips to pad your arsenal of password protection with:
1.Avoid reusing the same password twice.
2.Never use a default password.
