In simpler times, an account with a protected credential meant security, wherein your account had a username that was unique to you and it was protected by your password—a simple mechanism enough in itself. Today though, the landscape is completely different.
All of us are connected to a multitude of applications with passwords associated with each of them.
So how unique are your passwords? Do you repeat your passwords or use similar passwords with minor changes? Is your password related to your pet or your favorite movie? Do you use the same password for your business applications as well as your personal ones?
Whatever your answer is, it is not humanly possible to remember hundreds of unique passwords for each application without writing them down somewhere—an open invitation to trouble.
Password Manager is all you need
You don’t need superhuman memory to memorize all your passwords. Instead, you need an effective password management solution that simplifies the job for you.
A password manager is a tool that handles and stores all your passwords in an encrypted format. It enables stringent password policies and nullifies human error. This lets you be productive, set passwords and forget them without having to worry too much.
In addition, an enterprise password management product provides efficiency and accelerates your organization’s functionalities.
Features that a good password manager comprises:
A good enterprise password management product must have some mandatory functionalities.
- Stringent password policies – Such policies ensure that your password is unique and follows best practices. Unique passwords though are not enough by themselves. They must prompt you to change your passwords at regular intervals. This ensures that even if your password has been a part of a cyber attack wherein multiple credentials were stolen, your hacker can no longer access your applications through your older passwords. This way, you are empowered to stay ahead of your hacker.
- Seamless Integrations – It must seamlessly integrate with directories such as the Active Directory to help streamline access to your employees’ identities. Other features that aid efficiency are password sync and reverse password sync capabilities. This captures native password change and automatically starts the password synchronization process across all target applications as long as it adheres to the previously set policies. As well as ensuring password changes on Active Directory syncs the change across all target applications.
- Self-service capabilities – Irrespective of how good your memory is, you are bound to forget your password one time or another unless you have made a note of it on a device or paper which is counterproductive to what you are trying to achieve. Thus, self-service password capabilities go a long way in helping you be self-sufficient with your passwords.
A self-service password reset functionality lets you change your password without the help of IT admin which in itself is a cumbersome process. For example, you don’t have to wait for an admin’s time when you can do it yourself. Here, passwords are reset after a set of authentications are made, be it with a challenge-response question, email OTP, SMS OTP or soft token. These are authentication methods that are with you alone. This eliminates any security discrepancy and ensures that you are entitled to your account as you should be.
- Risk-based authentication – Another important authentication that is imperative in today’s word of cyber-attack is risk-based authentication. Here, your account is authenticated based on intuitive criteria which means that certain criteria like user’s device, location, IP address and time are considered when you want to access your account. Any unlikely behavior can imply that a hacker is trying to access your data and prohibits the authentication.
SSO with a secure password manager
Another important tool that can accelerate your efficiency is Single Sign-On. Here, you can access a wide array of applications simply using a single login, which means you now have to remember just one password which you are likely to use every day—thus, eliminating the problem of having to make a conscious effort to remember your password.
A single sign-on which is secured by an enterprise password management product is the most secure way to keep an attack at bay.
Password Vault
There are some users in an organization who need immediate access to several applications or data and tend to have more privilege in using applications. They are generally the administrators who set roles and provide access rights. The accounts of such users are generally handled differently. Best practices recommend that their passwords are changed every day and stored in a password vault so that their accesses are highly secure.
Password Management is not a luxury, it is a necessity
Given the frequency with which accounts are being created and passwords are being generated, it is imperative that you have an efficient way of handling these passwords. The aim of Identity and Access Management is to ultimately make employee accesses easier, simpler and secure.
Password management is an integral aspect of making your users productive, all the while securing their identities, given how passwords are the walls between your organization and a hacker.
The Cross Identity enterprise password management product has secured a wide range of applications in a diverse array of enterprises along with Single Sign-On to all the applications—all with simplicity and ease.
Secure yourself today with an intuitive, intelligent and efficient solution to all your password troubles.
