Passwords are supposed to keep us safe by acting as a barrier, preventing unauthorised access to our personal and professional information. They are meant to be the first line of defence in protecting sensitive data from cybercriminals and malicious attacks.
However, if not managed properly, passwords can pose a high security risk despite their intended purpose. Weak passwords, easily guessed combinations and poor password management practices can lead to significant vulnerabilities.
Hackers can exploit these vulnerabilities, resulting in unauthorised access to confidential information, data breaches and potential financial and reputational damage. Therefore, while passwords are designed to safeguard us, they can become a liability if not handled with caution and diligence.
You’d be forgiven for assuming that your junior staff would be the users with the least security awareness. But it’s simply not true. Stats show people who work at high levels use passwords that are too weak or follow poor guidelines. You don’t have to look far for examples...
Take Hillary Clinton’s Campaign Manager, John Podesta. Depending on who you believe, Podesta’s password for his personal email account was ‘Password’. Other sources cite that he forgot his Apple iCloud password and asked his aid to email it to him.
Once the hacker went in, his passwords were exposed to the world. A series of embarrassing issues ensued for the Clinton campaign. The hackers started telling voters to ‘vote Trump.’ The campaign fell apart, and serious ethical questions arose about Clinton and her campaign.
Your business cannot afford reputational damage, data losses and data breaches that expose your customer data and leave you open to fines... or worse.
Regular Penetration Testing, sophisticated social engineering and in-depth user awareness training are crucial to improving your cyber security. Together, they’ll expose any weak links in your security defences, whether they be passwords, unpatched systems, misconfigured hardware or more.