Is Your Business One Password Away from a Data Breach?

Passwords are one of the most important functions to keep a business safe and secure, but did you know that most cyber-attacks start by guessing weak passwords, using leaked credentials from other sites and even phishing someone into revealing their login details. Worryingly, 44% of internet users almost never change or reset their passwords and only 34% update their passwords regularly. By being out of the habit of regularly updating passwords, you put yourself at risk for hacks and cyberattacks.

Why Employees Need Strong Passwords
Attackers target employees, as humans are generally easier to trick then machines are to break into. Employees are the gateway to everything within a business, if a hacker manages to access an employee’s account, this often unlocks:
• Emails
• File shares
• Cloud applications
• Finance systems
• Client data

Compliance and Insurance Requirements

Many frameworks that businesses need to comply with, do require strong passwords. Framework such as Cyber Essentials, ISO 27001, GDPR and even Cyber Insurance policies have an expectation that organisations and businesses need strong and resilient passwords. Insurance claims can be declined in some circumstances, when a breach occurs due to a weak password.

DISConsulting IT help to monitor and enforce regular password changes, ensuring that the password is robust, therefore reducing the risk of hacks.

Why MFA is vital

Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) means you need two or more proofs of identity to login. Instead of just a password, you will also need something like; a code on your phone, a hardware key or an authenticator app for approval. It is the digital equivalent of needing both a key and security badge to enter a building.
DISConsulting can help with setting up multi factor authentication for your business and employees. Of course, most organisations and businesses’ ideal would be that all employees have secure passwords, but they do not have the tools of processes to enforce them… that’s where we come in.

How We Can Help

There are several ways we can help you, whether that be monitoring for compromised credentials to training employees to recognise potential attacks and phishing attempts. Even if a password is stolen, we can set up conditional access policies, device compliance checks and multi factor authentication. This ensures only trusted users on trusted devices can access business data

Conclusion

In short, at DISConsulting IT we can monitor login attempts, detect unusual behaviour and block suspicious access. Most cybersecurity attacks do not break your systems; they log in using stolen passwords. Our job is to make sure that can’t happen.

Sources: https://www.getastra.com/blog/security-audit/password-statistics/