Why a Password Manager is Critical to your Overall Security
Due to security concerns, businesses have come to terms with just how important a password manager is. Internet security has become a hot topic in today’s business environment. This is because failure to apply proper security protocols, especially as pertaining to passwords, can be costly.
Take this case in point: in 2012, Yevgeny Nikulin, a Russian hacker, gained access to two popular networking and storage sites LinkedIn and Dropbox. Nikulin, in cohorts with others, exploited a combination of phishing techniques and poor password management to gain access to data belonging to over 200 million users. Â
The above example is a testament to the dangers that lurk in our Internet space today and what both businesses and regular users have to face. Unfortunately, most people today still use very lax password rules and are open to all manner of compromise by nefarious actors. The solution to this is installing a good password manager.
Why use a password manager
Researchers say the average person today accesses around 10 password-protected sites. Only 10% of those people did not use the same password on all the sites. Close to 15% said they never change their passwords on a regular basis even on banking sites.
A recent survey in the United States, UK, Australia, revealed most people only pay closer attention to passwords when accessing banking and email sites. The obvious reason for this is these sites contain more important information and unauthorized access can have more catastrophic consequences. But this same survey also revealed another shocking detail: 4 out of 10 respondents shared their passwords with at least one other person and nearly all the surveyed used the same password to log into multiple sites.
Over 12% of all the respondents said they have shared their passwords with someone via text message. This is one of the common reasons passwords become compromised.
Likewise, over 50% of those surveyed reported they never use special characters such as ! ? & # in their passwords. Experts say using this simple technique can make it exponentially more difficult for hackers to compromise your passwords. Amazingly, close to a third of the respondents use important dates (year/month, etc) on their passwords.
This can be a birth date, marriage date, pet’s birthdate, or another significant date. Experts say this significantly increases the risk of the password being compromised by hackers who can employ brute force tools and password-guessing algorithms.
The above highlights why a password manager is important. Here are 4 reasons why you should begin using a password manager right away:
1. Consolidate all your passwords
We mentioned that the average person accessed over 10 password-protected sites. This can be cumbersome to manage, store, and remember. The answer is a password manager. A password manager will consolidate all your passwords. All you need to remember is the Master password. Some password managers are so advanced they can consolidate passwords for both websites and operating systems such as Windows, Linux, databases, and applications.
2. Manage Shared Passwords
If you are a member of a team that’s working on a single project, you can easily manage shared passwords. Users can use a single password to access certain areas but are restricted from others. Exercise complete control and auditing of user passwords in a group setting.
3. Manage Application Passwords
A password manager can allow users to access certain applications while limiting access to others. This also works well in a group or team environment where multiple people are working on various projects but are tied to the same end result. You can also eliminate easy-to-guess passwords across the board.
4. Grant access without revealing password info
This is a major benefit especially in a group setting or where people are working remotely but accessing data and applications from a centralized location. A password manage guards passwords from unauthorized entities both locally and remotely.
Password managers are an integral part of the way businesses and other organizations manage their Internet security and workflow. Looking for the best password manager? Try these.
