Departments/Business matters

By Greg Taylor, Director, Baker Tilly Staples Rodway Taranaki

Password management made easy

Passwords can be one of the banes of life, but they should be taken seriously as theft is big business. That’s why it is worth considering investing in a password vault or safe service.

ARE YOU ALWAYS forgetting your ? Do you get frustrated trying to remember which combination of kids’ birthdays, pets, street names and added 123s and !*$%^#, CAPITALS or lower case go with what?

Weak passwords are vulnerable to theft It is a common problem and has been a frustration for many of our clients. As busy humans, it can be difficult to remember a host of password variations and lengths for all the different applications you might use. If you have passwords, it’s important that they are strong – weak passwords can lead to your account being taken over or personal informa- tion ending up for sale on the dark web. Weak passwords could lead to your password being stolen. However, before finding a new hiding place for that notebook of user passwords, maybe it is time to look at a more secure way to store sold for as little as $US7 – your bank account now and are proving to be very useful. During some of your most important information. You login could be sold for as little as $US20. the last 12 months, there has been a substan- should have different passwords for different tial increase in New Zealand users. This is sites and a to keep track Use a password vault service mainly driven by the requirement by many of them all. One way to mitigate some of the risk is by using businesses to have passwords kept securely A recent TechRepublic article puts the an online password vault or safe service, some when staff are working from home. average price for a New Zealander’s stolen of which attract a fee while others are free. Another reason is that the new New credentials at $US20. Credit card details are These have been around for around 20 years Zealand data security laws introduced in

92 — June/July 2021 — Build 184 December 2020 have made businesses use. If it is too complicated, you will give cybercriminal, but in both scenarios, it only take password security far more seriously. up and be looking for the notebook. Most takes one person seconds to copy your - Thinking about it, your business may only vault services will prepopulate the login words and cause a huge amount of damage. be as strong as your employee’s pet’s name. information automatically. Many features are included with online Other features to look for may include Some options password vault or safe services/managers. password generators, linking passwords Here are five online password managers that The most important is that there is only across devices or storage of digital records will make your life easier and safer: one password to remember, and the service such as passports or drivers licences. Some ¬ LastPass securely manages the login to all the online password managers also have dark web ¬ platforms you require it to. A second factor monitoring. This will automatically alert ¬ KeePass might be an authenticator-generated random you if your credentials are at risk. ¬ Nordpass pin that you have as well as your password. Leaving your passwords on a piece of ¬ Password Manager paper or in a notebook makes it far too ¬ Keeper Security. Choose a service that is easy to use easy for your data to be stolen or misman- Each has its own pros and cons, so do your It is important to have a look at what vault aged. There are numerous cases of internal research to find what suits you best. options are available to you and if it will suit cybercrime picked up by our audit teams Whatever you do, make sure you’re keeping your unique needs. right across the country. your passwords protected. This doesn’t mean At the top of your list should be how The threat to your business could just as putting your small notebook of passwords in easy is it to log in to the apps and sites you easily be an internal one as an unknown the top drawer in the office!

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