Why Your West Michigan Business Must Use Complex Passwords
Key Points:
- It was shocking to discover this about short passwords.
- Do this first to get a password that takes 3,000 years to crack.
- Here’s an example of the ideal password combination.
- You can finally stop trying to memorize your passwords.
Not long ago, West Michigan businesses and organizations used passwords that were 6-8 characters in length to secure their websites, networks, and online accounts. Then it was discovered that those shorter lengths could quickly get cracked, taking less than 39 minutes.
That revelation shocked local business owners and cybersecurity specialists. In fact, password creation has changed dramatically since then. In today’s video, Mark Veldhoff, CEO and Owner of Envizion IT, has a revealing graphic about brute force attack timelines you’ll want to see.
What Is A Brute Force Attack?
When someone attempts to secretly and unlawfully uncover your username and what combination of symbols, letters, and numbers make up your password, that’s known as a brute force attack. The sole purpose is to gain entry that requires your access credentials.
Those areas could be your company’s website, network, online accounts, emails, files, or anything you keep secured behind a protected environment. Once those two pieces of information get cracked, a hacker will take control of that area, locking you out completely.
Did you notice the graphic in Mark’s video? It clearly shows the strength and cracking prevention your password has with 12 characters combining numbers, symbols, and upper and lower case letters. Surprisingly, it would take 3,000 years to hack your complex password.
Here’s How To Create A Strong And Complex Password
Creating a strong and complex password is easy. You must follow a few basic steps to make hacking your password difficult for cybercriminals. Use these three solid reminders to increase and improve your password’s strength.
- Password length is the foundation of its strength. In the video graphic, a short password is quick and easy to crack. When yours is 12-15 characters long, you’re maximizing its strength.
- The next layer of strength is a mixture of numbers, special characters, and upper and lower case letters. For instance, #73Te5Ya29cP is an ideal password combination example.
- Avoid using or reusing old passwords and passphrases, especially from other accounts. That proactive step and changing your password every three months increases its cracking difficulty.
Creating longer and more complex passwords is your best option to protect you and your company’s network. And if you want to make it exceptionally difficult to break into, add multi-factor authentication placing an additional layer of strength fortifying your system.
Password Management – The Final Touch
Suppose you’re like most businesses or organizations in West Michigan, with countless usernames and passwords for your company. It’s impossible to manually keep track of and notify employees when it’s time to change their login credentials.
As Mark pointed out, your best option is to use a password management tool like LastPass password management solutions. With this tool, memorizing or manually cataloging your passwords are over. PM tools will auto-generate long, alphanumeric, highly secure passwords.
Along with saving you time, these tools help protect your identity and alert you to any phishing websites you or your staff may encounter. If you’re using different operating systems, many password manager tools sync across multiple platforms, giving you access to your passwords.
Complex Password Help For West Michigan Businesses
Passwords are one area where a little extra care goes a long way. Remember, a strong and complex password is the only thing between hackers and your personal or company information. Besides your credentials, are your password policies up to date?
If not, contact Envizion IT or call us at (616) 741-1144 to guarantee your password policies meet the highest security standards. Our cybersecurity team is always available to discuss password management options and answer your questions.
