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by Arianna Carter on Jun 6, 2016 9:26:53 AM
Imagine leaving for work in the morning and leaving your front door not only unlocked, but wide open – with your valuables in plain sight and a welcome mat practically inviting anyone to walk in. Pretty unrealistic, right? We instinctively lock our doors, close our windows, and maybe even set an alarm system because we understand how important it is to protect what matters most. Securing our valuables and the things in our home is very important to all of us, so why don’t we treat our cybersecurity the same way? Your digital life deserves the same level of protection and vigilance as your physical home, because in many cases, the data on your devices is even more valuable than the items in your living room.
We live in a world driven by technology. The average internet user manages about 10 different accounts, ranging from work-related applications and remote access portals to banking, email, and social media. We store everything from financial records and medical documents to business-critical files and client data on our computers and devices.
Why your digital information is so critical
In many cases, this digital information is the backbone of how we work and live day to day, which makes it absolutely essential that it stays as secure as possible.
The real-world impact of exposed data
When that data is exposed, the impact can be far-reaching. Data breaches can wreak havoc on your personal and professional life. An intruder gaining access to critical information can lead to identity theft, fraudulent transactions, unauthorized access to business systems, and reputational damage. Files can be duplicated, encrypted, deleted, or stolen outright, and in a business environment this can mean downtime, lost revenue, and potential compliance violations.
The hidden costs of recovery
Even if you recover access, the process of investigating, restoring data, and rebuilding trust can be time-consuming and costly—especially for small businesses and managed service providers responsible for protecting multiple clients.
#1 cause of data breaches is poor passwords
Studies show the number one reason for data breaches is a poor password. Passwords, similar to a lock on our front door, are the first line of defense against intruders and hackers. When that “lock” is weak, it doesn’t take much effort for someone to walk right in—whether that’s a cybercriminal running automated tools or a bad actor who knows a few basic details about you or your business.
Common Password Mistakes
The most common security mistakes involve passwords that are:
- Easy to guess
- Using personal information that can be looked up (favorite color, favorite sports team, pet’s name, child’s birthday)
- Less than 7–10 characters
- Being used on multiple accounts
- Haven’t been changed in over 3 months
- Don’t have a mix of upper and lowercase characters
- Contain no special characters (numbers, punctuation, and symbols)
Why simple passwords are so easy to crack
If it’s easy for you to think of, someone else can more than likely figure it out too—especially if they have access to your public social media profiles or a list of previously leaked passwords. Attackers routinely use automated “brute force” and “dictionary” attacks that run through millions of common passwords in seconds, so anything simple or reused is essentially an open invitation.Good password security can be difficult, but it’s not impossible.
How to build stronger, more memorable passwords
Coming up with something secure is about finding the right balance between what you can remember and what’s difficult for hackers to guess or crack with automated tools. Our brains remember sequences best when grouped in sets of three or four, so try starting with this in mind. For example, you might:
- Choose a phrase you’ll remember and turn it into a pattern (e.g., “CoffeeAt7Am!” becomes C0ff!At7Am!!).
- Use a mix of unrelated words, numbers, and symbols grouped in clusters (e.g., “River!93-Table?47-Cloud#82”).
- Avoid real names, obvious dates, or anything that can be tied back to you or your business.
When to use a password manager
For many users and organizations, using a reputable password manager is also a smart way to generate and store strong, unique passwords for every account without having to memorize each one. This reduces the temptation to reuse the same password across multiple systems—a common weakness that can quickly turn one compromised account into a much larger incident.
Layering passwords with other security tools
Strong password protection combined with other security tools such as multi-factor authentication (MFA), Antivirus, and NovaBACKUP for your data protection can be an excellent comprehensive strategy. MFA adds an extra verification step—even if a password is stolen, an attacker still needs that second factor to gain access. Antivirus helps detect and block malware that might try to harvest your credentials or encrypt your files.
How NovaBACKUP strengthens your data protection
NovaBACKUP complements these layers by ensuring that, even if an account is compromised or a ransomware attack occurs, your critical data is still protected and recoverable. NovaBACKUP allows you to run jobs as a specific password-protected user, helping you maintain proper access controls, as well as allowing you to create an encryption key to further protect your backup files from prying eyes. By encrypting backup data at rest and in transit, you can significantly reduce the risk that a compromised password or endpoint will expose your sensitive business or client information.
Give us a call at +1 805 579-6700 or talk to a backup expert and start protecting your data today.
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