Choosing the Right Password Repository for Your Business

Posted by Orion Network Solutions on November 1st, 2017

With email and website hacking becoming regular news these days, it is easy to brush cyber delinquencies off as just another incident. However, getting deeper into the story and taking time to understand these potential dangers to the cyber health of your business is critical. It can provide you important information and advice on how to deal with similar cases should your website, network, or system be in the same predicament.

A Strong Password: Your First Line of Defense

When your website or corporate email is hacked, it doesn’t automatically mean that your data have been exposed. If you have followed proper procedures for creating password, your password should be protected with a robust cryptographic cipher through hashing and salting. Hashing is creating a unique digital fingerprint for your password while salting is adding random bits to create a password that is much harder to crack. Although hashed data aren’t fool-proof and can eventually be cracked by hackers with enough motivation and processing power, cracking them takes a while, giving you enough time to react, change your password, and keep your data safe despite the breach.

“Clever” passwords like “password123,” though hard to forget, can and will be cracked within a millisecond, giving them zero protective value. But a hashed and salted password like “Zg2#5OnUEfdXx%]” will take so much time to crack, hackers eventually give up on their attempt, deeming it not worth the effort.

The problem with strong and super secure hashed and salted passwords like the above example is that they are difficult to memorize. This is where a password repository or password manager comes in handy.

Password repositories are software applications that help you create strong and complex passwords and keep them stored and safe so you never have to memorize them. One main password (which you do have to remember) will give you access to all others. There is quite a number of password repositories in existence today, some of which are available on cloud and some work as on-premise solutions. The key is finding a tool that best works for all your users and meets your needs.

Getting your passwords into a password repository is a matter of collecting all your password details and importing or exporting them to your tool of choice. While some password managers do have import/export options, some may require you to transfer or input these details manually. Others provide platform support and browser integration. Activate them so your passwords can be made available to you whenever and wherever you need them.

About the Author:

Mike Rana is the Chief Technology Advisor of Orion Network Solutions. Orion Network Solutions specializes in providing Computer Installation, Maintenance, and Consulting services along with 24x7 help desk services for small and midsize companies. We provide network solutions that enable small businesses to not only lower their management cost but also increases employee productivity at the same low price. We offer network solution that becomes an integral part of your organization and can provide an increase in productivity of your organization.