During 2023 we have covered a host of topics in our newsletters, focused largely around cyber security and IT infrastructure efficiency. To conclude 2023 we take a look at how you can share passwords safely and the NCSC’s latest annual review.
Secure password sharing
Passwords are a key vulnerability for any organisation with hackers using stolen, weak or re-used passwords to get into your systems. We have previously discussed good password hygiene/password managers and ordinarily one of the golden rules is that people shouldn’t share passwords. However, there are times when legitimate password sharing in a business is required, so how can you do this safely? We have long advocated the use of a password manager as it generates strong, unique passwords that are both difficult to crack and can be safely stored. A business password management app can not only improve your employees’ passwords but also provide secure password sharing where administrators can do this without revealing the actual password. There is also a useful free tool called Password Pusher that allows passwords or sensitive information to be sent securely using a link that expires after a set number of days. If we need to reset a password for a client, we often use this tool to safely send it to them.
NCSC annual review 2023
The NCSC has just released its seventh annual review which you can read in full here. The report is broken down into specific areas of interest and the threats and risks is worth a read as it’s a good reminder of the breadth of global risks we all face, underlining the increasing need to protect ourselves from bad actors as much as possible. Improving your cyber security needn’t be onerous but it’s also interesting to note that the report highlights a 21% increase in Cyber Essentials certificate awards and a 55% increase in CE Plus certificate awards.