Almost every aspect of our lives is intertwined with the online world, whether through our personal or work lives, making the security of our personal information and passwords becoming more critical than ever before. Password management systems are here to offer a secure and convenient way to store, generate and manage passwords.
Risks of Poor Password Practices
Before we look at solutions on how to better our password management, let’s dive into the risks associated with managing our passwords in an unsecure way.
- Weak/ Guessable Passwords.
- Reusing passwords across multiple accounts.
- Storing passwords in unsecure locations such as note pages in your phone or on your desk at work.
All of these can leave you extremely vulnerable to various security threats including phishing scams, data breaches, identity theft and brute force attacks which can be detrimental to you or your business.
Given these risks, it’s evident that relying on memory or unsecure methods to manage passwords can lead to potential security breaches and other disastrous situations.
The Role of Password Management Systems
At SOTS we believe password management systems offer comprehensive solutions to keep your passwords encrypted and secure from traditional password practices. Here’s some of what they can offer:
- Secure password storage- They encrypt your passwords and store them in a secure vault, protecting your passwords from unauthorised access.
- Secure Sharing- Some password managers, like Keeper, allow you to securely share passwords within the application to trusted individuals or team members without compromising security.
- Password Health Monitoring- Password managers often include a feature that analyse the strength and security of your passwords, alerting you to any weak or compromised passwords that need your attention.
- Much more
So, what password manager do we recommend as cyber security specialists?
Keeper Security
Keeper Security is an easy-to-use comprehensive password management system that also offers more security benefits such as secret management, which protects critical infrastructure and CI/CD pipelines while eliminating sprawl and connection management. Overall, Keeper Password and Secrets Management offers a comprehensive password security solution that can significantly enhance your IT security posture, improve operational efficiency, and simplify access management for your business.
Security:
- Zero-Knowledge Encryption: Keeper uses a zero-knowledge architecture, meaning even Keeper employees cannot access your data. This is crucial for ensuring the confidentiality of sensitive passwords and secrets.
- Strong Encryption: Keeper utilises industry-standard 256-bit AES encryption, the same level of encryption used by banks and governments, to protect your data at rest and in transit.
- Reduced Risk of Breaches: By centralising password management and eliminating the need for employees to store passwords in insecure locations (like spreadsheets or text files), Keeper reduces the risk of data breaches.
Improved Efficiency and Productivity:
- Automated Password Rotation: Keeper can automate password rotation for various accounts, reducing the burden on IT staff and improving overall security posture.
- Secure Password Sharing: Keeper allows for secure sharing of passwords and secrets among authorised users and teams, streamlining workflows and collaboration.
- Eliminates Hardcoded Credentials: Keeper helps remove sensitive data like API keys and database passwords from code repositories, preventing accidental leaks.
Additional Benefits:
- Compliance with Regulations: Keeper helps businesses meet various industry regulations and compliance standards by providing secure password management and audit trails. Keeper’s detailed reports can be used to demonstrate adherence to regulations like PCI DSS, HIPAA, and GDPR.
- Improved User Experience: Keeper’s user-friendly interface simplifies password management for employees. With Keeper, they can easily store, access, and share passwords securely, reducing frustration and improving overall user experience.
