Password hacks are one of the common cybersecurity threats for businesses and individuals alike. Hackers seem to devise new ways to hack into networks, devices and systems, and this can have devastating consequences for an enterprise. Data theft is just one part of the damage. There could be financial losses, and investors & clients may lose interest and trust. Preventing password hack attempts doesn’t have to be complicated. Here are some very easy cybersecurity measures for better password protection.
- Change default passwords and don’t reuse passwords. It doesn’t have to be hard for a novice hacker to find default passwords like “abc123” or “mypassword”. Default details must be changed as soon as software or devices like IP cameras have been programmed and deployed. Also, even if a password is complex and unique, it shouldn’t be reused for other devices, programs, and networks.
- Recommend a password manager. It’s a no-brainer that passwords must be strong, long and must have special characters and numbers. However, for employees, who are using a dozen of passwords every day, it is impossible to manually remember complex passwords. For that, recommend a password management tool. These tools are considered to be low on risk and are extremely useful for retrieving and storing passwords.
- Use the lockout feature. For the unversed, the lockout feature basically locks out a user, who has used two or more wrong passwords within a period of time, or consecutively. The lockout feature has been used by financial institutions time and again, to prevent brute force attacks, and it is insanely practical too.
- Consider two or three-layer authentication. Multifactor authentication is absolutely useful for certain accounts and devices. Hackers are often interested in critical and sensitive data, which are accessible to privilege users. If your company has been looking for ways to add security, two or three-layer authentication, in form of added security or use of biometrics, can be handy.
- Finally, stay proactive with employee training. Your employees need to know how to prevent password hacks and watch out for threats like malware in emails, links and attachments. They need to be aware of their role in ensuring security within the organization.
Businesses can prevent password hacking attempts and without spending a fortune. Additionally, to test your current security measures, consider scheduling tests and scans of IT environments, to find flaws and vulnerabilities, which must be fixed immediately when detected.