For most businesses, a minor data breach could prove to be disastrous. What seems like a glitch at first could allow sneaky hackers to access a business’ key accounts and financials sooner or later. Not a single company can afford to let cyber-criminals compromise vital internal business data, like clients’ transactions history, inventory lists, users’ passwords, and so on. That’s why more and more organizations now use automated enterprise password managers to create, keep, and manage all of their passwords.
Importance of Effective Password Management for Businesses
Regardless of the size of the company, each organization must have a cyber-security system in place for effective enterprise password management. Using a sustainable process to manage your passwords throughout their lifecycle helps prevent unauthorized access to various accounts and services.
According to a 2020 data breach investigation report, 81% of hacking attempts leading to breaches were caused due to compromised passwords. That’s why it’s inevitable for companies to implement a strong password policy to protect valuable data from cyber-criminals. All users must authenticate their passwords through dedicated tools and services provided by their organization.
Because of increased reliance on technology as a result of COVID-19, more and more valuable information is being placed on different networks, including third-party servers, daily. This has expanded the amount of data that can be accessed and breached by hackers exponentially. Due to these reasons, there has never been a better time to start using a password manager than it is today based on a basic philosophy of limiting access to information to concerned employees only.
The best way to avoid cyber-attacks is to use an enterprise password management solution and make it available to users at all times. Before we discuss how to manage your enterprise password security, let’s go through some major advantages of enterprise password managers.
Benefits of Using an Enterprise Password Manager
Password management on a business level has never been as convenient and effortless as today, thanks to enterprise password management software. These tools are available for use for both individuals and organizations. In addition, password managers for companies come with helpful administrative features, including assigning user roles and permissions, multi-tier sharing of sensitive information across team members, clients, and more.
Once enrolled, each team member can download and install their copy of a password vault from the service provider’s official website. An enterprise password manager stores all employees’ passwords and helps them generate unique, strong, and harder to crack passwords.
The following are essential benefits of using an enterprise password manager:
- Creating Unique & Strong Passwords: A password manager will help generate a unique and strong password for each user. This way, you can vastly reduce the risk of a compromised account with difficult to hack passwords for all of your employees
- End-to-End Encryption: This specialized software incorporates state-of-the-art encryption standards for safe credentials storage for all users. Each user’s passwords are kept in secure and encrypted vaults, who can log in to their vault from any location to access their passwords
- Disruption-free Workflow: Instead of manually entering verification codes for each login, the password manager will autofill login credentials for all of your users. This way, your teams can enjoy a disruption-free workflow and carry on with their core tasks without clicking that “forgot password” link endlessly.
Other benefits of using an enterprise password manager include easily manageable shared accounts, faster access to accounts for registered users, different login methods, multi-factor/2FA authentication, tracking site logins & security audits, and more.
How to Manage Enterprise Password Security
By now, you must be wondering, why do I have to know about how to manage my enterprise password security when I can simply invest in a password management tool? Well, the answer is simple; buying a Tesla won’t automatically make you a safe driver; you still need to learn how to drive it safely and to its full potential.
You need to impart a company-wide password security culture and nurture it by training your employees on the best password management practices. Whether your employees are working on-site or remotely, they must take password security very seriously. The following are sure ways you can manage your enterprise password security for maximum business safety.
- Use the Right Password Manager: Invest in a password management tool that is easy to use and is specifically designed for your teams’ needs. It will enhance your team members’ collaboration with each user having designated roles, who can easily create, store, and manage multiple passwords without having to memorize them
- Limit Login Attempts: To prevent authorized access to your network, restrict the total number of login attempts to access the system. Also, lock the account temporarily after a certain number of unsuccessful login attempts. This will help prevent the hackers from having unlimited login guesses and keep your vital data secure all the time
- Implement multi-factor/2FA Authentication: Irrespective of the login method the user chooses to go with, like a fingerprint, face recognition, or a PIN, it’s best to implement a two-factor or multi-factor authentication for increased data protection. This way, only the concerned user will be able to login into the system using the code received on their phone or via email
- Monitor Login Attempts: Always keep an eye on account activities, especially repeated login attempts (both successful and unsuccessful). Let the concerned users know about any strange login attempts to learn whether or not an authorized person tried to access the system
Conclusion
Besides constantly reminding team members about good password management, companies need to implement the best password management practices across the board for enhanced security, productivity, and accountability. This can be achieved through enterprise password managers, which ensure efficient and reliable password management for all users and decrease the chances of costly data breaches.
