Cybersecurity is one of the scariest words in modern business, even in Omaha and Lincoln, NE. It feels mysterious and complicated, and to be fair, it is often both of those things.
Even so, cybersecurity can realistically be simplified to specific tools and training. If you use good password practices, you eliminate the vast majority of security risks. It actually can be that easy, and it gets even easier when you utilize a password manager.
A password manager is a secure tool that stores and manages your passwords. It can be an app, browser extension, built-in device feature, or business platform.
Instead of trying to remember every password, employees only need to remember the password that unlocks their password manager. The manager can then generate strong passwords, save them securely, and fill them in when employees sign in to approved websites and applications.
For a business, a password manager can also help control access to shared accounts. That means company credentials do not have to live in a spreadsheet, an email thread, a sticky note, or one employee’s personal browser.
Password managers are useful for safely storing passwords, and that becomes apparent pretty quickly. How many different passwords do you use in a single day?
Between email, cloud software, banking, vendor portals, payroll systems, Microsoft 365, customer platforms, and other work tools, the total adds up fast. Most people cannot realistically remember a different strong password for every account.
That is where a business password manager helps. It remembers passwords for employees, saves time when someone forgets a login, and makes it easier to avoid reusing the same password across multiple accounts.
Most phones and browsers already offer built-in password saving. A dedicated password manager can go further by helping businesses create strong passwords, share access appropriately, and keep company credentials under company control.
Password Hygiene
Password hygiene is a simple term for the habits that keep your passwords safer.
You have probably heard some of the basic rules before:
Do not reuse passwords.
Make passwords long and random.
Avoid names, birthdays, company names, and predictable patterns.
Do not send passwords through email or chat.
Turn on multifactor authentication whenever it is available.
That sounds easy enough. It gets much harder when you are trying to remember dozens or hundreds of passwords.
A password manager helps employees follow these rules. It can create long, unique passwords for every account and remember them, so people do not have to. Current guidance from CISA recommends long, random, unique passwords and encourages people to use password managers to generate and store them.
The National Institute of Standards and Technology emphasizes that password length is especially important and recommends passwords of at least 15 characters.
It can feel strange to store so many passwords in one place. That is a reasonable question.
A reputable password manager is generally safer than reusing passwords, saving them in an unprotected spreadsheet, writing them on sticky notes, or storing them in an unsecured notes app.
Password managers are designed to store information in an encrypted vault. That means the information is protected in a format that is not readable without the correct credentials. Many providers also use a zero-knowledge design, which generally means the provider does not have access to the passwords stored in your vault.
The important part is choosing a reputable service, creating a strong master password, and turning on MFA. Your master password should be long, unique, and never reused for another account.
Now that you’re sold on password managers, how do you actually use one?
You’ve already used something to that effect on your phone, but it doesn’t necessarily work with your office computer. Things can get a little hairy and weird.
Fortunately, managers are made to simplify life, and you can fully utilize it by learning a handful of easy steps.
Employees sometimes need access to shared accounts, such as vendor portals, social media accounts, software subscriptions, marketing tools, finance systems, or other business applications.
That does not mean passwords should be sent through email, chat, text message, or a shared spreadsheet.
A business password manager can allow authorized employees to access a shared login without giving everyone an unprotected copy of the password. Depending on the tool, administrators can decide who has access, update credentials when needed, and remove access when an employee changes roles or leaves the company.
This keeps company passwords with the company and makes shared access easier to manage.
There are a lot of password managers available, and the right one depends on how your business works.
Start with the obvious questions:
How much does it cost?
Is it easy for employees to use?
Does it work across the computers, phones, browsers, and applications your team uses?
Does it offer a free trial so you can test it before committing?
For a business password manager, also look for:
Strong encryption and a clear security track record
Multifactor authentication for vault access
Secure password sharing
Shared vaults for team or department accounts
Administrator controls and user management
A way to add new employees and remove former employees
Password-health reporting or alerts for weak, reused, or compromised passwords
Support for your broader technology environment
A password manager should make security easier, not create another complicated tool that employees avoid using.
Something that can help you understand password managers is learning about the different types:
Each of these will remember passwords for you, and the vast majority also suggest strong passwords. That said, full-feature password management apps are the best way to go for a couple of reasons.
First, a browser password manager only works with that one browser. If you use the same browser on all of your devices, it will remember passwords for you across those devices, but it can’t remember passwords for apps outside of the browser. That means you need something else to manage those passwords safely.
Native device managers tend to run into the same thing (Apple’s Keychain is a prime example). These managers work great on one device (such as your phone), but they might not work universally across all of your devices unless you change the settings.
Cloud accounts that manage passwords might actually work across all of your devices and apps, but they only work when you have internet access.
A full-feature app covers all of this. It will work universally on all of your devices. It works whether you’re in a browser or using a different app. It does sync across the cloud, but it can also work offline. It’s the ultimate solution.
With all of that covered, how do you actually use the manager once you pick one?
They’re pretty intuitive, but a quick guide will make sure you’re in the know.
First, you have to set up the password manager with an account. It will walk you through this when you install it for the first time. That’s when you will pick your master password for the manager (it’s the only password you need to remember now). It’s also when you set up multi-factor authentication. Don’t skip that.
Once that is done, you can start filling in passwords. Every time you type in a password on a device (that has the manager installed), it will offer to remember that password. Even better, you can ask it to suggest a strong password using the password generator feature and update that account record.
In fact, this is a good idea. Start with the accounts you use and care about the most, and make sure you have a strong password on each of them. It’s ok if it takes a little while to get through your list, but ultimately, you want all of your passwords to be strong and remembered by the manager.
From there, as long as you allow the manager to run, it will take care of the rest. It will recommend passwords whenever you create a new account, and it will remember every password indefinitely. It will also automatically update passwords if you have to change them.
If you happen to work in a leadership role in your place of business, you might consider standardizing password managers in the workplace. That’s a good idea.
If you want to ensure that everyone is using the manager to good effect, consider a couple of things.
First, pay for a company account for the manager. You can usually get bulk rates to have dozens of users (and more if needed). This gets all of your staff on the same manager (which makes it easier to support), and it removes any barrier to entry.
From there, offer training to use the manager. Many people won’t need training, but some might. If that training is available, you get rid of excuses, and everyone wins.
That’s really it. If you make things easy, people tend to like it. Password managers can do that for you, and you can do that for people in your place of work. Cybersecurity in Omaha and Lincoln, NE has never been more accessible.
A password manager can make a major difference, but it cannot stop every cyber threat by itself.
Employees still need to watch for phishing emails, verify suspicious requests, keep devices updated, and report unusual activity. Businesses also need MFA, access controls, employee training, backups, endpoint protection, and a plan for responding to a security incident.
A password manager is one important layer. It helps reduce password reuse and makes strong password habits practical for employees.
For more guidance on helping employees recognize phishing, social engineering, and other common threats, read CoreTech’s guide to employee cybersecurity training.
Strong passwords and MFA are simple but important protections for business accounts. A password manager makes those habits easier by generating secure passwords, remembering them for employees, and helping the business manage shared access more safely.
CoreTech can help your organization improve password management, employee security training, MFA adoption, and its broader cybersecurity strategy. Contact us to start the conversation.