Poor password management may be just as harmful as malicious viruses

In 2009 alone, McAfee detected 1.5 million malware samples representing an increase of 1,800 percent over 2006.  But viruses aren’t the only security risk to your business.

The greatest threat may come from within your company.

Tips for creating a strong, yet memorable password

A recent survey by Channel Insider reports that in 43 percent of security assessments, solution providers say they find poor password policies, enforcement and practices. 
  
One simple solution might be to choose a complex password, using a blend of numbers, special characters (Examples: “@,$,&”) and uppercase and lowercase letters

However, with complexity comes an increased, difficulty to remember the password. You never want to use the same passwords for business and personal accounts, write down passwords on a Post-it note or save them openly on your desktop. IsUtility expert Cheryl Smith recommends something easy for the user to remembe:

• Use numbers for some of the letters (ie "leet" or "1337" )
• Use symbols to replace letters (ie "!" for "i")
• For capitalization, something less obvious than the first letter

For example, if your password is Gaggia (brand of espresso machine) the password might be "$gaGG1a".

*Alert: Ignore emails that ask for your passwords via email

A credible organization - a bank or any other online software or service - will never ask for your password via email. If you receive any emails that ask you to “update” or “verify” your password, ignore it immediately. It is likely fraudulent.

We hope you have found this information helpful. If you would to learn more about this subject, please feel free to contact us:

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