Passwords are one of the main things that protect your IT infrastructure and they are also the weakest link, so how often do you change your passwords and what areas of your IT infrastructure is password protected are two questions that must be asked regularly.

Passwords are used when you want to log into your employer’s network onsite or offsite, and they can also be used when you want to access certain folders/directories in your employer’s IT network.

Make sure that your employees :

1- Never have an open network that allows you to access everything once you have keyed in your password to log into your computer. When Sony got hacked a few years ago, the hackers hacked into the main network and then had access to everything on the network as every user had open access to everything on the network. They also found a file called passwords which had the login details  and passwords for every employee who had access to Sony’s network. Make sure that users only have access to files, folders and software that is relevant to their job, why should the HR department have access to all the files, folders and software used by the website development team.

2 - Never leave Post it’s with passwords written on them on your computer screen or your desk. If you need to write passwords down, keep them in a notepad that is locked away in a drawer that only one person has access to, or use .

3 - Never have passwords that are too easy to crack, make sure that they are a minimum of eight characters long, comprised of alphanumeric characters, must have at least one uppercase letter and have a symbol. Passwords like your partner’s name, your children’s name or your date of birth are way too obvious. One of the easiest passwords to crack is one belonging to someone in your IT support department, because as they have so many passwords to remember, they make sure theirs is so easy to remember.

4 - Make sure that passwords are changed on a regular basis such as once a month or once every two months. The more often they are changed the harder it will be to crack them and make sure that everyone is reminded to change their password on a regular basis.

iPing provide managed services and IT services and we can help provide you with an overview of your IT networks password setup and how you can improve it. So, if you need some help with the above please contact us or give us a call on 01 5241350.