The concerns related to cybersecurity extends beyond compliance. Password hacking attempts, unauthorized access to data have resulted to serious consequences, and these consequences that include reputation damage are not limited to large companies alone. In fact, smaller companies and startups, with limited resources, have a hard time doing damage control. To be more precise, instead of focusing on responses, right practices need to be adopted, so that someone’s attempt to hack password can thawed easily.
Educating the employees
A considerable number of security lapses and cybersecurity breaches can be traced back to internal sources, and unfortunately, most employees are unaware of their role or how their regular actions are increasing risks of breaches. Small companies need to frame proactive corporate cybersecurity policies, which include training employees on the possible concerns and suggesting means through which they can avoid common mistakes.
Password guidelines
To prevent a cyberattack, it is absolutely necessary to follow the basic guidelines for password creation and management. Here are some practices that work for every user in every organization –
- Passwords need to be long and must include multiple characters. From uppercase and lowercase, to special characters and numbers, a strong password should be a mix and must have at least eight or more characters.
- All default passwords have to be changed immediately. Ensure that your employees are encouraged to turn this tip into a common practice.
- Thirdly, considering find a reliable and safe password management tool. Note that every employee and internal user is expected to remember a bunch of passwords, and sometimes, it can be humanly impossible to do that. Not to forget, if they end up forgetting one, retrieving passwords without resetting could be a major problem. Using a password management tool is the simplest solution to all these concerns.
- For selected accounts, special services and accesses, it is wise to use what’s called the ‘lock-out feature’. This basically ensures that the system will be locked, in case a user tries to use different passwords or has many (usually three or more) invalid attempts to access a system or account.
The last idea is to include multi-factor authentication, where relevant and necessary. Cybersecurity is an aspect that small businesses cannot afford to ignore, more so because they don’t have the resources or time to handle possible breaches. Password management and educating employees is just the right step in the direction. Check online now for multi-factor authentication and password management tools.