3 simple steps to protect your business on ‘world password day’

It’s one of those niggles in life that only becomes a reality when something goes wrong. And passwords can be irritating. But they really are highly essential, so we’ll allow ourselves a brief nag on it!

World Password Day is an annual event that takes place globally on the first Thursday of every May and aims to raise awareness of the importance of having strong passwords and providing best practices for online account security. The day is supported by hundreds of organisations including the National Cyber Security Alliance, Intel, Microsoft and more.

Why have World Password Day?

The importance of strong password security may seem rather obvious and/or boring. However, research shows that despite the huge rises in data breaches in recent years and the well known consequences of these, poor password habits are still surprisingly common.

TeleSign’s 2015 Consumer Account Security Report found that 70% of users lack the confidence that passwords are able to adequately protect their online accounts. And this concern is justified – Verizon’s 2016 Data Breach Investigation Report showed that weak, default or stolen passwords caused 63% of all data breaches in 2015. A big part of the problem lies in the reusing of passwords. A mind-boggling 73% of online accounts use duplicated passwords, which can create a “domino effect” whereby all accounts with the same password are affected when even just one account is breached.

What can you do?

Here’s 3 simple steps you can do to protect your business and personal data and online accounts.

Toughen up your passwords

The first step in ramping up your online security is to strengthen your passwords. 123456 may continue to be a popular choice, but that also makes it one of the weakest. Updating your passwords goes a long way towards protecting your digital accounts, and is something that should be done on a regular basis (nag nag!).

As a guide, you should look to update your passwords every 90 days and make sure you are creating passwords that are long, strong and unique for every account. Intel and National Cyber Security Alliance have created some great social images to help you remember and share these important tips, which you can find at www.passwordday.org.

Consider a password manager

The second step recommended by many cyber security experts is to utilise a password manager. These relieve the burden of trying to memorise different and complex passwords by managing them all in one “vault” and locking that vault with a single master password. There are many great password managers out there and PCWorld has a great list of four strong options to get your started.

Turn on two-factor authentification

The final step, and perhaps the most important, is to protect your passwords with two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is an additional layer of security that combines something you know (your password) with something you have (your mobile phone) to keep hackers out of your account even if they obtain your username and password. Many of the world’s largest and most popular web platforms offer 2FA today, and you can find simple step-by-step instructions for how to turn it on with over 150 sites at www.turnon2fa.com.

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So there you have it. Following these three simple steps today will help you step up your digital security and better protect your business and its data.

As your trusted IT partners, Complete IT Systems can offer you expert advice on cyber security solutions and how they could be effectively deployed in your business.

Request a call back you can do so via this link or call us on 01274 396 213.

5 latest tech trends to give SMBs the edge

Small and Medium Enterprises accounted for 99%* of all businesses in the UK in recent years, with 76%* of those only employing the owner. With increased pressure to deliver a top quality (often immediate) service, the people at the top already have a lot of hats to wear.

Until someone invents a time machine that allows more than 24 hours in any one day, passion and hard work only get you so far. That’s why successful businesses are turning to tech to boost productivity and improve competitiveness – and Complete IT Systems can make the transition even smoother for you.

Make sure you do…before your competitors do!

Base decisions on accurate data

Man working in shop

It sounds obvious, but it’s not easy. Entrepreneurs make a lot of good but gut-based decisions. As your business grows, however, so does the need to shift decision-making to base it on solid data.

Fortunately, technology and cloud services can help you turn unfiltered data into useful insights. Free tools such as Microsoft Power BI turns raw data into rich visuals that can help you spot trends, and can pull in data directly from many of today’s popular cloud apps. This can help you understand your market properly and, when it comes to expanding or diversifying, not make assumptions that you’ll later regret.

Maximise your billable time

Audio and web conferencing tools are becoming more sophisticated, making it more acceptable to use apps like Skype for Business to stay in touch with clients without having to travel for face-to-face meetings. That travel time can be turned into productive work that is better for your clients and their customer experience.

Get out from behind your desk

Woman getting in car

A critical capability for today’s businesses is the need to stay productive away from your desk. The ability to quickly respond to emails, update and share documents and manage calendars wherever, whenever is a game changer for many small businesses.

Technology such as Office 365 gives businesses the freedom to work in whatever way is best for them, while remaining connected to their customers who expect fast and highly digital interactions. It also makes it easier to be part of company-wide conversations. Team chat tools such as Microsoft Teams keep everyone in the loop via the same team workspace – from sales people out in the field to the people responsible for the yes/no decisions. Using virtual workspaces can also help you free up physical desk space, and office overheads too, both of which can stifle growth in the early stages of establishing a business.

Trouble-free transformation

Transformation does not have to equal business disruption and change management challenges. Thanks to the cloud, IT that was formerly the domain of large company budgets is now accessible for SMEs.

Moving to the cloud also cuts the reliance on your own servers, putting you in a better position for backing up data and disaster recovery. A power outage at one of your locations or a stolen laptop no longer means a critical loss of business or security. In the long run, this doesn’t just save money it also improves reliability.

Learn from what they wish they knew

Technology is a great business enabler, whatever your size or maturity. Are you taking advantage of the latest tech innovations? Staying as connected to your customers as your competitors?

As Microsoft Gold Partners, Complete IT Systems can offer you expert advice on the solutions and how they could be effectively deployed in your business.

To find out more please call us on 01274 396 213 or use our contact form and we’ll arrange a good time to call you back.