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8 Reasons Why a Password Manager is a Must

Internet & Security

8 Reasons Why a Password Manager is a Must

Cybersecurity breaches have become all too common in today’s digital landscape, especially as personal information and data have become increasingly valuable. In 2019, 1.116 billion email addresses and passwords were exposed in a single breach. This breach was particularly concerning as hackers were able to ‘dehash’ the encryption and therefore use the password with full access.

Along with the threat to the personal consumer, businesses have also seen increased risk. From 2017 to 2019, the cost of a cyberattack to a business increased by 71%. The average cost to business due to lost data or assets in 2019 was £4,180. Not to mention the time spent in crisis management addressing the source and impact of the breach.

While options to protect personal and professional data may seem few, the introduction of password managers addresses the issue of cybersecurity head-on.

What is a password manager?

Password managers are secure applications designed to store and manage online account information. Essentially, it is an encrypted folder that remembers all of your login details and passwords. That way, you only have to remember one password- the login to the password manager. 

Here are our 8 reasons why a password manager is a must:

#1 Gets Rid of Human Error

With 10s and possibly 100s of account details to remember, both personally and professionally, it’s easy to forget or misremember passwords. Rather than hitting the dreadful ‘Forgot password?’ button, the application remembers all of this information instantly. Not to mention saving you precious time by avoiding the tedious process of resetting a password. 2.

#2 Generates Secure Passwords

Along with the ease of having each password saved, a password manager also generates secure passwords that have a very low (if at all) chance of being compromised. So, in the event that a hacker did access a platform’s sensitive data, the passwords generated by the application would be nearly impossible to decode.

#3 No Need to Reuse Passwords

Since the password manager generates secure passwords for you, there is no need to reuse passwords. Using the same password for multiple accounts increases your vulnerability during an attack by exposing potentially more data from other platforms.

#4 Share account details securely with other users

For businesses, password managers are a simple and secure way to share sensitive information with other team members. Whether that’s credit card information, company account details, or securing company accounts with encrypted passwords, these applications protect businesses from unforeseen cyberattacks.

#5 Easy way to onboard/offboard information

Additionally, by sharing all of this data through a password manager, businesses can streamline their onboarding and offboarding process by simply setting up or deactivating one account for the employee. Businesses can save time by not having to manually share this information as well as not manually changing each password to which an ex-employee had access.

#6 Supports 2-Factor Authentication

Password managers add an additional level of security by supporting 2-factor authentication. With 2-factor authentication enabled, you are even protected if someone were to learn your master password.

#7 Ability to manage passwords easily (reset)

Another keystone of password safety is to change the information often, especially after a suspected security breach. Rather than having to mark down on your calendar every 6 months to change your information, password managers make this process quick and painless. Depending on the application, the interface usually displays the age of each password and recommendations on when they should be changed.

#8 Protects against phishing scams

According to CyberArk’s Global Advanced Threat Landscape 2018 survey, 95% of successful cybersecurity attacks are the result of phishing scams. Password managers that automatically fill in personal credentials help protect you against these scams. If you were prompted to visit a fake website designed to steal your information, the password manager would not pull your account information automatically. As a result, you would pause and understand that it is most likely a fake page, saving you from a potential security breach.

Whether it’s the peace of mind that your information is secure or the ease of not having to remember numerous account login details, password managers are a must-have tool in 2020.

To learn more about how to protect yourself and/or your business from a future cyberattack, visit our website for more information.

P.S. Looking to install a password manager for your personal accounts or business devices? Password Boss is our favourite.

Written by Claudia De Fabio, Meeko Teams