There are a variety of security vulnerabilities that organizations of all sizes need to address, including weak passwords. While it’s common for businesses to implement technology solutions in an effort to improve their password security, this fails to address one of the biggest reasons passwords fail: employees.
If your business isn’t paying attention to how your employees use their passwords, you are putting your important data at risk and leaving your company vulnerable to hackers. Here are a few reasons why you shouldn’t let your employees manage their own passwords, and tips for improving your password strength.
Facts About Managing Password Security
Virtually every IT executive understands that secure passwords are a crucial component of keeping networks safe. However, based on a survey performed by Ovum, it’s clear that too many IT professionals are ignoring how human behavior can affect a business’s information security.
One of the most shocking results of this survey was that over half of IT executives do not monitor how employees use their passwords. In addition, close to 80 percent of those surveyed had no solution in place for controlling how employees accessed cloud-based business applications.
Finally, the study found that 76 percent of surveyed employees regularly had problems using their password correctly, and the same percentage would be glad to have a tool to help them store and use their passwords.
Clearly, the topic of how employees use their business passwords is not being paid enough attention and is putting organizational security at risk.
Holes In Security That Must Be Addressed
In addition to understanding how employees and IT executives view password security, it’s also important to take a look at a few of the biggest password vulnerabilities that organizations are not addressing. Understanding these security risks can help you decide if your business needs to change its password policy.
Lack of control is perhaps the largest security risk when it comes to passwords. Failing to control how and when employees use their passwords leaves a huge hole in network security, and often results in weak passwords. Similarly, few businesses have a protocol in place to prevent password sharing, making it much easier for an unauthorized user to gain access to your business network.
Another risk is that many companies are still relying on manual processes for cloud-based password management. As you might suggest, this can easily result in lost or stolen passwords and weakened security.
Fixing The Issue
How employees use their passwords should be a concern for every business. Fortunately, there are several ways you can fix this issue and improve your company’s information security.
The best way to strengthen your business’s password security is to stop relying on employees to manage their own passwords. Instituting automated password management technology will let you establish strong, complex passwords without burdening your employees. Password management technology should also help you to monitor who is accessing your information, and can help you identify weak passwords that may be putting your data at risk.
Address Weak Points in Your Security
If you need help strengthening your password security and taking password management out of the hands of your employees, then you need to work with the IT professionals at U.S. Computer Connection. We can help you identify and address weak points in your security so that your data is protected as fully as possible.