Today, cybersecurity attacks have become a major threat to businesses across the world. As per Gartner forecast reports, the global information security market is forecast to reach $170.4 billion in 2022.
In this post-covid pandemic era, we saw an increase in the number of remote working employees, which in turn raises some security issues. Yes, you heard it right.
Today, remote workers are the number one target for cybercriminals, resulting in a surge in cloud breaches last year. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, there has been a 300% increase in reported cybercrimes since the pandemic began.
That is why the importance of a password manager for teams has become an essential thing for today’s businesses.
So, what is a password manager, and how can it help your team when it comes to cloud security? Read on!
What is a Password Manager
A password manager is a software application, which acts as an encrypted digital vault for all your passwords. You can generate, store, manage, or retrieve your login credentials for your internal applications or online services securely with a password manager.
Why Do You Need a Password Manager for Your Business
A password manager can help your team in four ways:
- To ensure password security
A password manager can help you store encrypted passwords, thus ensuring it is protected. It also allows you to control password access and decide who can access the password.
This software program also tracks and audits password usage across the team, thus monitoring whether there is any kind of discrepancy.
- To generate stronger passwords
With a password manager, you can generate random strong passwords for each access point. This will ensure that the attacker won’t be able to access all your accounts at the same time of data breach with a single password. Each password is made in compliance with the standard password policies.
- For quick access
You don’t have to remember all the passwords each time you log in. The password manager can help you login in quickly with the convenient auto-fill feature without compromising password security.
- For better password operational efficiency
With a password manager, you can share passwords with other users in your team. And you can also make password changes frequently, which will again ensure cloud security.
So, you got an idea about the benefits of a password manager for teams, right? Now it’s time to discuss some tips for choosing the right password manager.
Top 5 Tips for Choosing the Right Password Manager for Your Team
1. Two-factor authentication support.
A recent study from Verizon Data Breach investigations has established that 81% of all data violations happen because of weak passwords and poor management. Passwords can be easily hacked and construed. This embarks a need for multi-step or two-factor authentication for accessing crucial data.
Password managers for businesses can incorporate this functionality in an end-to-end encrypted way with an onus of complete data security. Many password managers such as Dashlane, 1Password include 2FA (two-factor authentication) in well-structured plans.
2FA works in such a way that it creates different and unique user checkpoints for data accessing. Generally, this includes a password and a fingerprint, iris scanner, or face scanner at the second step. The two steps in action ensure data protection.
2. Think about open-source products with dynamic communities.
Password managers build communities. A wider and diverse community will give rise to more active and protean solutions.
A password management tool with an assembled expert community would be a great source for unique solutions to solve problems in an organization. For this increasing demand from password managers, inbuilt forums have been established to decrease dysfunctionalities.
The password managers with an open-source often help share forthright resources eliminating the constraints on tech and f2f interactions. The open-source password managers are more user-friendly and don't compromise on security.
With a smart investment, one can get secure, open-source, and competent password managers. Some of the open-source password managers are Keepass, Passbolt, and EnPass.
3. Go for simple and transparent pricing plans.
When it comes to a password manager for business, always invest coherently. As there are immense options available in the market with forever free and feature scale-up modes, go live with software having transparent, simple, and powerful features. Prioritize better functionality and security over fancy designs or a complicated interface.
Before finalizing a password management tool, always use trials to complete software comprehension and only then commit to billing. Get your complete team-onboard for discussions and analyze the pros and cons of the software.
Compare different password manager’s plans on feature incorporation, pricings, and security levels. Research and read the password manager tips for better understanding.
4. Look for cloud or self-hosting options.
Cloud hosting is always preferred and trusted. When finalizing password management software, gather complete details of features, especially hosting services. It has been established that cloud-based password managers for teams are way safer than browser-based ones.
The cloud-hosted features add an extra check for passwords and provide the liberty to use them on varied devices with end-to-end security maintenance.
For businesses working on browser modes, password management works well but accessing passwords from remote locations is limiting. However, cloud-hosted password managers allow flexible access in a safe and reliable authenticated way.
Consider this before opting for free-trials or selection procedures for the organization’s password management software. Keeper is one of the biggest present cloud-based password management tools.
5. Find solutions with developers and other team members.
Get yourself a tool with an integrated team working interface and allow integration of programmatic workflows. This ensures a seamless and flexible flow of work deadlines.
Many password manager tools such as Keeper provide chat options allowing team members to easily communicate and implement workflow itineraries on a secured platform.
Options like CLI, command-line interface, and Application Programming Interface (API) makes this plausible and practical. This allows teams to transition between these two options and provides solutions together.
Password managers for businesses like Pass are providing CPI features on a platform with reasonable pricing and plan options.
With a pool of options available in the market, opting for CPI and API integrated tools can aid in security and inter-communication.
Final Words
A password manager has become a vital part of cyber security in today’s digitally connected business world. Therefore, make sure you choose the right password manager for your team. It should have all the security features you need to keep your systems safe from potential breaches. Also, it has to offer simple and transparent pricing plans that fit your budget.
Another key thing is to intercommunicate with other teams - developers, project managers, etc. to finalize your choice of a password manager for teams. These tips will help you to find one that is just right for you and your team.
