Why do I need a password manager?
If you’re reading about password managers for the first time, you’re probably wondering why such a tool exists. Well, to help you out, we’ve compiled a ‘top three’ for password-related company pains. Moreover, we’ll illustrate how a password manager, like Passwork, can help you and your business to work smart; minimizing stress, maximizing safety.
Digitalisation and Human Error
First and foremost, COVID-19 forced the entire world into rapid digitalization. Whilst this digitalization has had a number of positive effects, it has also had the unfortunate impact of significantly increasing the number of attack vectors that bad actors can aim for. Imagine an entire wave of old-school office managers in their fifties buying laptops and working from home for the first time. Of course, it’s no surprise that cyberattacks are on the rise; in 2020 alone, 75% of organizations across the world experienced some kind of phishing attack.
Human error, in this sense, needn't be accepted when you’ve got a password manager on hand. When you access a website that requires a password stored by your password manager, it is presented automatically by the software. However, this only occurs when the webpage is authentic. Phishing attacks rely on false web pages that mimic the real thing, and whilst this may trick a user, a password manager can tell fact from fiction, every time. When the user doesn’t see his password pop up on the screen, he knows that he’s not in the right place. But what if the user decides to put in the password manually? Well, password managers are on the case; oftentimes, complex and unmemorable passwords are generated, and users are forced to rely on auto-input. Human error? Eliminated.
Here you can download posters about passwords, identity, malware and more. CyberPilot invites you to print them out and hang them up in the office to remind employees of the importance of good digital habits.
Security audit preparation
The benefits of password managers don’t end there; they also significantly boost your chances of passing a security audit. This is mainly down to two factors. Firstly, software including and similar to Passwork will alert you if your passwords are old, weak or compromised, which in turn encourages you to change them. In doing so, you’re bumping up your level of security, and you’re getting well prepared for that upcoming audit. Secondly, and more importantly, password managers minimize human involvement wherever possible, and as has already been established, this is key to secure operations. For example, if an employee leaves your company, Passwork will alert you to the fact that the passwords accessible to the employee have been compromised and must be updated as soon as possible to prevent any security breaches. The increased automation of this process reduces manual, human involvement that may otherwise interfere with or obstruct the updating of passwords. This improves password hygiene, which in turn improves security audit results.
Annual leave and unexpected absences
On a similar note, temporary staff absences, rather than permanent personnel changes, can also cause problems for companies without password management software. If an employee is absent, be it due to illness or holiday leave, then they take their passwords with them. This leaves everything that is protected by those passwords relatively inaccessible to the rest of the company, considerably disrupting day-to-day operations. Let’s say you’ve gone away for a relaxing beach holiday in Bali. It’s unlikely that you’ll be on your phone responding to Sharon from accounting, who needs the password to your email account, right? Well, Sharon can’t access an important PDF that was sent by a client last week, so she has to ask them to send it again. It’s inefficient, unprofessional, and will cost your company time and money.
However, this is an issue that password managers can solve; with solutions such as Passwork, there is no need for employees to commit passwords to memory, or write them down in places known only to them, because they are stored by Passwork, either on your local server or in the cloud. This means that they can be accessed by anybody with the appropriate security clearance. Business can run smoothly, regardless of staff absences, and you can get back to reading Sapiens with your mojito.
Tools such as Passwork are simply a necessity in the modern world. A company’s security is significantly weaker without them, and the brain, albeit a remarkable tool, is one that is notoriously prone to mistakes. If you want your organisation to reach its full potential, your operations must be as streamlined and efficient as possible, and you can only achieve this by using the most up-to-date password management software. Moreover, solutions such as Passwork come in a variety of sizes. If you’re reading this, wondering whether your business is even big enough for such infrastructure, think again; you’ll find a solution here perfectly tailored for the size and weight of your company.
