Managing a business can be a daunting task and business managers may not always realize the IT risks their organization is exposed to. IT risk management is not a product an organization can simply purchase. Instead, it is an on-going systematic practice of risk management processes and maintenance uniquely customized for each organization.
Our experience has shown that more tha
n 60% of our prospective clients have at one time saved critical passwords in Word and Excel documents and within their web browser or FTP program. These oversights are exacerbated by out-of-date firewall rules, antivirus definitions, and operating system updates & patches.
Viruses, malware and the like are software that are engineered to be malicious in nature! These programs can execute hidden commands that look for documents labeled password, run scripts against your web browser to find your saved passwords and search for other vulnerable systems within your network to replicate this process.
In addition to having complex passwords with alphanumeric characters and symbols, it is important to have a completely unique password for all of your accounts. With the recent attacks on popular websites such as Facebook, Microsoft, Adobe and Evernote, hackers have gained access to millions of usernames, passwords and other personal data. Your login credentials can become compromised if you have the same or similar passwords for multiple accounts. This is one of the methods criminals use to steal identities and deplete bank accounts. These crimes are often committed abroad, which make it very difficult for US authorities to prosecute.
Having a password manager, such as Lastpass, Password Genie, Splash ID & Roboform, can help reduce the fatigue associated with managing all of your online accounts and other platforms that require unique password authentication.
