Make password management a first line of defence

If you do nothing else when it comes to cybersecurity, use a secure password manager.

A password manager that securely creates, stores and shares passwords and other business-critical information is highly effective in your first line of defence against a cyberattack.

It takes only one set of stolen credentials…

Just one set of stolen credentials is all it takes for a cybercriminal to gain access to your business-critical systems and cause havoc. Threat actors could demand a ransom, use access to your systems to gain other credentials, potentially using these to target your customers and suppliers, make your entire system and network of contacts unviable, and sell your credentials on the dark web. Or all the above.

What are credentials?

‘Credentials’ is just another term for username and password, but the term also means the information which identifies a person, business, device or service (such as a cloud/online service or platform) as unique.

Most commonly, threat actors attempt to steal a user’s details – or credentials – to gain access to their accounts. When it comes to businesses and organisations, threat actors are particularly focused on gaining access to organisational systems and they know that, often, the account credentials of one employee can give them access to an entire system.

Credential stuffing and password spraying

Online criminals will use strategies, such as ‘credential stuffing’ and ‘password spraying’ as well as phishing emails to prise trusting employees of private and sensitive information.

Credential stuffing is where a cybercriminal takes thousands of stolen credentials they’ve obtained from the dark web and try them against systems.

Password spraying is where thousands of commonly used usernames and passwords are attempted en masse to obtain access to a system. Unfortunately, this strategy is more successful than it should be due to people using the same password for multiple accounts and easily guessable passwords.

Security needs to be faster to remain secure

The fact is, security of both individuals’ and businesses’ credentials is not, even these days, moving as fast as the cybercriminal activity to steal them. And it’s credential theft that is at the forefront of many cyberattacks, since just one set of credentials leads to lucrative and significant advantages for the online criminal, resulting in serious security incidents.

Make a secure password manager a priority

With an enterprise level password manager, your passwords and all those of your employees for your systems and their many work devices will be safe and securely encrypted.

In addition, a password manager will help your team generate new secure passwords and provide monitoring and compliance reporting across all password activity throughout your organisation.

Capable password management significantly cuts down the level of your vulnerability.

Work devices also more secure

Not only will you be more secure against cybercriminals who steal passwords, ‘password spray’ and carry out ‘credential stuffing’ and phishing, with secure passwords for devices also installed these also have a greater level of protection.

In addition to essential password management…

The more lines of defence you have the better. And while password management is THE essential when it comes to online security, multi-factor authentication should also be utilised.

According to Microsoft, multi-factor authentication (MFA) can prevent 99% of attacks.

Enterprise password management, incorporating MFA will keep your systems as secure as possible. And while it’s not feasible to promise 100% safety online, even with all security strategies deployed, every measure is effective in upping your defence and ability to keep operating as a trustworthy, safety and security conscious organisation.

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