Strong passwords for business accounts are a must for businesses. They’re absolutely critical since opportunists and cybercriminals frequently target the accounts and data of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs).
Coming up with the strongest passwords to boost cybersecurity for your company will require an efficient password strategy. It needs to be tailored to your small or medium-sized business to keep all data and accounts protected. Today, our cybersecurity professionals at Tech Masters will look closely at how you can develop an efficient password strategy for your business.
Weak Password Risks to Consider
There are so many reasons why an efficient password strategy is fundamental. If you’re using a weak password or a password that has been compromised, your SMB can potentially face multiple threats.
Data breaches (where cybercriminals can access sensitive data), financial losses (often due to the costs of recovering from a data breach), and reputational damage (where customers no longer trust your company with their data) are just a few examples of potential threats.
As stated by the StatCan source, 16% of Canadian businesses were impacted by cyberattacks in 2023. In terms of ransomware attacks, 84% of companies that paid to resolve them paid less than $10,000, while 4% paid more than $500,000.
Strong Password Policy Implementation
Now, taking action and creating a strong password policy that applies to every employee at your company is one of the important ways to avoid financial losses such as these and keep accounts protected.
It’s the best way to enhance security by minimizing data breaches, adhering to the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA), and avoiding consequences of failing to comply (such as hefty penalties, fines, or legal consequences).
And there are a few factors your company will need to think about when creating a strong password policy that employees should follow. The complex passwords they create should have numbers and symbols, a combination of uppercase and lowercase letters, and need to be longer than 12 characters.
When making passwords and maintaining them, employees also really need to avoid common words. They should avoid using their names or company names and instead use a mix of characters that are difficult to guess.
A good password will also be unique, but to ensure they remain ‘uncrackable,’ regular updates and password changes are essential.
Using Multi-Factor Authentication
What’s also critical for keeping your company’s accounts and data secure is multi-factor authentication, which offers another layer of authentication. This layer can greatly enhance password security, meaning cybercriminals will find it more challenging to access the accounts.
Since there are so many multi-factor authentication (MFA) methods available, such as a token for hardware or an SMS code, apps that offer authentication features or email verification, you’ll need to consider which option is ideal.
Now, this will require you to review the security needs and look at the methods employees are able to use with minimal difficulty. It will also involve ensuring the method works with your accounts, systems, and company apps.
Once you’ve chosen MFA options, employees can use their password as an initial step to initiate access to company accounts. They’ll then proceed with the MFA security step to complete the access process.
Using Password Manager Tools
There’s an efficient way to handle password management: A password manager tool will help employees store passwords securely. They’ll also make it easy to generate the passwords in the first place and will always generate unique ones when it’s time to update them. This means employees never need to reuse guessable old passwords and can access multiple accounts without needing to remember every unique password the tool creates for them.
Various types of reliable password manager tools are available, with some of the most cost-effective options including the following:
- Norton Password Manager: This tool offers a free version and specific plans for businesses. If you’re looking to upgrade to a more comprehensive security plan, you can get the password manager with extra security features for $29.99 (CAD) for the first year.
- NordPass: This tool is available for $2.43 (CAD) per user each month and comes with a single master account that employees can use to manage their passwords. There is a free NordPass version, but it’s only ideal for a single user or employee.
- Bitwarden: The Bitwarden password manager is available for $5.43 (CAD) per user, per month. There is a free version that businesses can use to store an unlimited number of passwords, but it lacks some of the features the paid version offers.
Completing Password Audits and Handling Updates
Password audits help employees know when a password has been compromised and it can reveal whether a chosen password is not strong enough.
We highly recommend that your employees complete password audits at least once a year, but more frequent audits can be ideal for those companies who may have had security issues in the past; and in that case, completing the audits every six months is best for security.
The system employees need to consider for completing password audits can include first evaluating the strength of existing passwords, which is easy with automated tools such as Pwned Passwords, Dashlane, or Cybork Hawk.
Pwned Passwords will let you know if a password has been exposed through a data breach. Dashlane has features to audit stored and compromised passwords, while Cyborg Hawk automates the auditing process and identifies reused passwords.
Your employees will then need to change or update the passwords and ensure the new ones align with your organization’s password policies, such as committing to a semi-annual password review and using password management tools to create efficient and secure passwords when required.
Training Employees on Password Security
Alongside these processes, employee training such as seminars or meetings about security can ensure employees understand the link between threats and weak passwords, social engineering attacks and compromised accounts, and learn the best ways to create strong passwords. It will help you build a security-conscious company culture, for which we suggest:
- Discussing the risks of weak passwords openly and encouraging employees to ask questions to refine their knowledge.
- Granting access to the best security tools, including password managers, to equip the team with the means to protect company data.
- Implementing response drills, such as data breach incidents, to help raise awareness of the consequences of poor password security and teach employees which actions can prevent this.
Remote Working and Secure Access
In terms of companies with a remote first policy, password security is also critical, but it’s slightly more complex because multiple devices may be used with varying levels of security. It’s also challenging because remote workers may use shared networks or public Wi-Fi, which are prone to data interception by cybercriminals.
In scenarios like these, your employees need to consider virtual private networks (VPN), and you’ll need to share the importance of using secure Wi-Fi connections with them. VPNs mask each remote worker’s IP address, minimizing the chance of cybercriminals tracking their activities, and secure Wi-Fi connections reduce the chances of unauthorized access to the network.
At the same time, remote working employees also need to adhere to the strong password policies you should create specifically for employees working offsite.
Considering Passwordless Access
One of the emerging trends that SMBs might also think about is passwordless authentication, including biometric access and FIDO keys. While biometric authentication involves accessing an account with a fingerprint or facial scan, FIDO keys unlock access to devices functioning using a method called public-key cryptography.
SMBs can register the FIDO key and connect it to the computer, after which it will generate private and public keys. To log in, employees can use the FIDO key instead of a password. They’ll need to sign a challenge to verify their identity, and once it’s sent to the service and the signature matches the public key, the employee gains access to the account.
Security benefits of such solutions include enhanced protection against phishing and man-in-the-middle attacks. And since they entirely eliminate the need to use a password, there are fewer chances of unauthorized users gaining access to company accounts.
They’re viable options for SMBs since they can be integrated with cloud applications that your company might already use; they also have features for user management, which IT support services, managed IT services, or technical support teams can use to manage them.
Best Password Strategies for SMBs: Key Takeaways from Tech Masters
As an SMB, you can’t leave your accounts open to risks of cyberattacks; the consequences could be dire for your company. Remember that password audits and using the right tools can aid you in keeping sensitive data secure and ensure you adopt a robust password strategy to minimize cyber threats.
Create your password strategy today. For more facts on cybersecurity and cyberattack prevention, go to or contact Tech Masters.
