In a world with increased importance placed on data security, strong passwords are always a first line of defense for personal and professional accounts. Yet, it is puzzling how password security and best practices are still not taken seriously. Creating strong passwords and updating them frequently may seem like a daunting task for many. As a result, some of your staff may choose to use one identical password across all accounts or unique but short, simple, and easy-to-remember passwords for the same accounts. Either scenario is unsafe, and you remain exposed to malicious hackers.

As a business owner, enforcing strong organization-wide password security is paramount to protect your business and clients. Read on to discover ways to strengthen your password security. 

Tips for Strong Password Security

Create long and complex passwords 

Strong password security starts with meeting all the complexity requirements for a strong password. A good password should be long, complex, and blend different letters, numbers, and symbols in a manner that isn’t sequential. It takes only a second to crack a password with only six digits and letters (upper and lower case), but it takes up to 34,000 years to crack a password of 12 numbers, letters (upper and lower case), and symbols. So, the longer and more complicated the password, the safer you are. 

Avoid using personal information 

Don’t give in to the temptation of using names, birthdays, addresses, phone numbers, or even information about you that could easily be found online. Personal information could compromise the effectiveness of a password. 

Don’t use words that could be found in a dictionary 

Besides avoiding obvious personal information in passwords, avoid words that could easily be found in the dictionary. For example, Swimmingpool1 may be a long password, but it is pretty weak. 

Stop reusing old passwords 

Recycling previous passwords is a common mistake a significant number of people make. When an individual switches back to an old password, they increase the chances of getting hacked. So, require your staff to change their passwords to something new whenever they receive that notification that it’s time to change their password. 

Use password generator 

Creating a good password is overwhelming, as so far established. Also, you may run out of ideas on creating new passwords when it’s time to change your passwords or when opening a new account. Well, if that’s the case, have no worries. You can get around this problem with a reputable password maker. 

Invest in a password manager 

A password management tool will save you trouble remembering all your passwords. With a password manager, all your passwords are organized and stored in a centralized location and protected using encryption and other advanced security systems. In addition, plenty of password managers offer password-generation services. 

Enable multi-factor authentication 

Strong passwords are great, but they may not be enough. Two-factor or multi-factor authentication adds an extra layer of security where you authenticate the login process using another validation process. 

Final Thoughts 

A strong password policy is a powerful tool in your defense arsenal. It is in your best interest to ensure everyone in your organization uses strong, long, and difficult passwords for anyone to guess. The tips above are an excellent place to start. However, should you want assistance or more information on password security, please write to us or call us at (410) 453-9300.