Here’s the thing, weak passwords are still considered to be the biggest security risk. You’re making it easier for hackers to break into and control your device whenever you set weak passwords. Any unauthorized access on your device and its applications is a highly impending danger to all your sensitive data such as email, bank, and other accounts.
Read Uniserve’s recommendation for “Password Security and Best Practices” and learn how to strengthen your account and device passwords.
1. Adopt Long Phrases
The practice of combining uppercase / lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols has been around for a long time in setting up stronger passwords for accounts. However, with the hacker’s sophistication – they figured out how to replaced selected letters into numbers and symbols.
Security Professionals urge individuals to set-up long passphrases that are easier to remember and more secure but would make it difficult to hack. Here is a good comparison of password and passphrase:
Password: Paris2020!
Passphrase: Iwant2go2Paris!
2. Create a Password Blacklist
Hacker’s first base to start the attack is to predict the possible password of users from the database of most common passwords. Businesses may it be small, medium-sized or large enterprise are advised to create their own version of a password blacklist and manage their password policies. This will help to eliminate or restrict users in setting up weak passwords.
3. Implement Two-Factor Authentication
Have you ever heard about Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)? 2FA has become more prevalent and adds an extra layer of security. This requires an additional step before a user can access the account. The user will receive an OTP (One-Time Password) or One-time code sent via mobile or email or an app on their mobile to confirm that the owner is trying to access the account. This authentication is known to be effective for enhancing security.
4. Add Advanced Authentication Methods
As we move forward to a fast pacing world based on technology, there are other authentication methods that have been widely used today – this is the “Biometric Authentication”. This is known to be as effective as it is proven to be reliable and pretty simple to gain access on demand. One good example available is on iPhones and iPads is the Touch ID fingerprint sensor and Face ID detection. This allows the system to uniquely verify the user.
5. Apply Password Encryption
What is the use of password encryption? Encryption is known to be the process of providing additional security for passwords. In cases of stolen devices or machines, confidential data that has been encrypted will be more secure compared to passwords that are written in plain text.
6. Ensure Secure Connection
It is indeed appealing to connect your mobile devices to FREE public Wi-Fi networks. However, connecting your device through this unsecured connection increases the vulnerability of the information on your device to hackers. That’s why security professionals highly recommend the use of Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) as it increases online security and confidentiality for information transmitted through the internet.
Every business moving towards a Modern Workplace requires improved security. Contact Uniserve to see how we can help you and your business modernize the workplace with improved security best practices.
