According to the survey, many organizations are still not taking account security seriously enough. Business passwords are still being broken at an alarming rate. Moreover, many businesses continue to utilize the most readily hackable strings possible.
Password management business Specops Software examined over 800 million leaked passwords in its annual Weak Password Report. It concluded that they are still the weakest link in an organization’s network.
Interestingly, 88% of those cracked had 12 characters or fewer, and the most popular passwords are ‘password,’ ‘admin,’ ‘welcome,’ and ‘p@ssw0rd. Around 20% of the characters were all lowercase.
Not powerful enough
More surprising is the fact that 83% of those affected used passwords rated as strong by NIST or PCI standards.
According to the cybersecurity website, this demonstrates that, while enterprises are making concerted attempts to adhere to password best practices and industry standards, more must be done to guarantee passwords are strong and unique.
To prevent access to sensitive information, extra security measures are increasingly necessary with current password assaults.
Threat actors used brute force assaults to acquire access to a business’s account. Moreover, combing through popular and compromised passwords and utilizing them in conjunction with a business email.
According to the security service website research, hackers were still effectively using outdated passwords, such as one exposed in a 2016 MySpace breach.
Furthermore, it also highlights the Nvidia breach in April 2022, in which many workers had safeguarded their accounts with weak passwords. The list includes passwords like ‘Nvidia,’ ‘qwerty,’ and ‘nvidia3d’. Thus, demonstrating that even huge and well-known companies are guilty of bad password policies.
To address the issue, the online security website advises businesses to first secure the Active Directory. It is the universal authentication solution for Windows domain networks. Third-party software, such as password managers and password generators, should be used to generate stronger and unique passwords.
Moreover, It’s also important to encourage employees to take an active role in password security and avoid easily guessable passwords. Moreover, regularly changing passwords, and using two-factor authentication is also significant. Businesses should educate their employees on the importance of account security and the risks associated with weak passwords.
In today’s digital landscape, where cyber threats are becoming more sophisticated, it’s critical for businesses to prioritize password security and take proactive measures to safeguard their sensitive data. By implementing these security suggestions businesses can reduce the risk of password breaches and protect their accounts from unauthorized access.
