On average, every person has 7.6 accounts – that’s a lot of user IDs and passwords for an individual! Remembering the user ID and password for all these accounts is obviously very cumbersome, and third party service providers have capitalized on this to provide password management services. A password manager is essentially a single repository for all your credentials. Two very popular password managers are LastPass and Dashlane. These are applications which will store your credentials in a “secure” database. However, they haven’t been spared by hackers, who breached their security to get access to thousands of user credentials.
Another method used by users to simplify the login process is to allow their browsers to save their passwords so that they can autofill the credentials as and when they are required. Another example is that users use the same password for all the applications they use, making it extremely simple for hackers to access all their data stored across all the applications they use.
Imagine the repercussions of your social media account being hacked, and if you use the same password for your internet banking as well. It would be painfully easy for people with malicious intent to cause significant harm.
Users and Passwords – Enterprise Security
Despite increased occurrences of data breaches, users tend to forget that their passwords are the first line of defence against data breaches.
For organizations, the problem scales with increasing employees and users. Your company’s business critical data can be compromised even if one of your employees’ accounts is compromised. Therefore, it becomes crucial for companies to prioritize the security of their systems, data and applications.
When it comes to enterprise data security, a secure Single Sign-on (SSO), provided by an enterprise Identity and Access Management tool, coupled with other password protection features like Multi-factor Authentication and a strong password policy, can go a long way in securing a network.
A multi-layered security solution like Akku from CloudNow Technologies comes with additional features like IP and device based restrictions to ensure that only whitelisted systems and IP addresses can access your account.
The Multi-factor Authentication feature of Akku ensures that user centric data like thumb print and retina recognition is required in addition to the password to enter your network. Many SaaS providers these days rely on using the SMS-OTP model to validate a user. The problem with this is that, if there is an issue with the network of your SMS carrier, you will be effectively shut out of your own account.
On the monitoring front, Akku provides you with a simple yet powerful way to securely manage users across your organization’s network. Get in touch with us to know more about Akku and Password managers just don’t cut it when it comes to enterprise network security. Here is what else you can do to keep your applications safe. how we can help you secure your network.
