You might think that adding additional security measures can only benefit your business, and this is true in most circumstances, save one: security exhaustion. If you don’t make it easy for your employees to adhere to your security policies, then you could inadvertently be making them perform slower than usual and your solutions could be getting in the way of their work.
Why Does Cybersecurity Feel Like More Work?
While it’s implemented to keep your business safe from harm, solutions like complex passwords, multi-factor authentication, and complex policies or rules can feel like an insurmountable mountain for some employees who just want to log in and get their work done.
Even the best employees and business owners know and understand that this can happen, and it can be frustrating when technology feels like it’s working against you.
But this doesn’t make cybersecurity any less important.
It’s easy to let a negative thought hijack your brain when you are simply trying to log into an account, but then you need to consider what’s in that account: contacts, personal data or information, credit card payment information, it’s all there for the taking if someone can break into the account. We recommend implementing multi-factor authentication to help shore up these challenges for any and all accounts where it’s possible.
The same goes for your employees, and this is one thing you can absolutely enforce on your network.
Passwords Aren’t as Secure as They Once Were
Passwords were initially a wonderful idea to protect important information, but that was before anyone understood that anyone could use the password if they knew it. It was also before we started storing sensitive information like banking and medical records in online environments, and before we had tools and databases filled with client and consumer information that could be valuable to others.
The password just isn’t as secure as it used to be. If a hacker knows a password, it’s easy to break into an account. Heck, even if a hacker doesn’t know the password, there is a decent chance they can figure it out with a little guesswork. Worse yet, a 12-character password can be cracked by password-guessing software in less than 14 hours—and that’s not to mention shorter passwords either. Add in the fact that people tend to reuse passwords, and you have a solution that is simply far from ideal.
Multi-factor authentication aims to shore up the issues with passwords by adding additional layers of security that are, admittedly, inconvenient for users, but secure all the same. Here are some tips to help you get the most out of MFA.
Make Your Multi-Factor Authentication Better
- Only go for one authentication app if possible, synced across your devices. North Central Technologies can help you set one up.
- Label accounts within the app and keep them organized.
- Identify how your MFA tools work within your password manager, like if the messages come from SMS or email.
- Identify what your security settings allow you to do within your accounts. Whenever possible, use the authentication app so you’re not relying on authentication information coming from different places.
We understand that cybersecurity can be challenging, but it doesn’t have to be. North Central Technologies can help you make the most of your tools and other solutions available to you. Learn more by calling us at 978-798-6805.
