Sandeep Jain, Senior Director of Software Engineering, Forcepoint India
“Though biometrics have become increasingly common for identifying ourselves on our devices, the password’s popularity continues as the primary way digital platforms and devices are secured. Passwords have persisted, despite their flaws, because they strike a level of compromise between security and convenience that works for the vast majority. This is boosted by the use of additional security like multi-factor authentication, where additional verification is needed on a second device. It makes it so simply stealing a user’s password isn’t enough to get access.
At an enterprise level, meanwhile, network philosophies like Zero Trust, which work from the principle of ‘never trust, always verify’ across the entirety of an organization’s network, also reduces the likelihood of cybercriminals successfully breaching an organization. In the age of cloud cybersecurity, this can be implemented in a device-agnostic way, wherever employees might be physically working and connecting from.
World Password Day is an annual reminder to everyone of the importance of practicing digital hygiene, and the role we can all play in keeping both our professional and personal lives secure by practicing secure password behaviors. For example, using an encrypted password manager to generate, save and autofill everyday passwords on websites, so that a threat actor can’t use one password to get into all of a user’s accounts. Staying cautious and practicing critical thinking when it comes to clicking links and sharing sensitive information like user credentials will also reduce the risks of phishing attacks, which are a common way of stealing details. IT leaders should also implement policies that mandate regular password changing, and set criteria to enforce strong passwords.
In an era of hybrid working and a dissolved perimeter between an organization and its wider environment, employees have never been more of a first line of cybersecurity defense for the organization they work for, than they are right now. Let’s use World Password Day as an opportunity to audit the cybersecurity posture of our organizations and make improvements.”