Password security 101

You'd think that changing passwords frequently and coming up with hard-to-crack keys would be enough these days, but even with the stringent measures at many companies, the sheer number of passwords in organizations today--most users have more than six passwords and IT administrators can have up to 100--creates significant security risks. Often, IT managers don't enforce rigorous rules in password security, leaving networks vulnerable to hackers. Problems include password sharing, ineffective password tracking strategies and the unfortunate habit many employees have of assigning identical passwords to multiple accounts. All of these practices significantly increase network exposure. Fixing the problem means shoring up corporate policy by changing the frequency of required password changes and requiring that each password contains at least one special character. On the technology front, strategies like enterprise single sign-on (ESSO) can also help.

Learn more about protecting your organization through better password security:
- read the article at IT-Observer