Why Your Nonprofit Needs a Password Manager
Do you think your employees' password habits are putting your nonprofit at risk? A 2019 Google Online Security Survey found that fifty-two percent of respondents reused the same password for multiple accounts. Another 2019 report, the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, states eighty percent of data breaches are caused by compromised, weak, and reused passwords. If even a few employees at your nonprofit are following these bad habits, you have a substantial risk of a data breach.
Why does this happen? When creating a new account, websites demand that we use long and complex passwords. If we do not, we aren’t allowed to make an account. When we finally get past the account creation phase, we might forget the secret code we just made and resign ourselves to using the forgot password link as a routine login option.
A password manager gives you better security and convenience. It can remember passwords for you, save you time, and secure your nonprofit's data.
What is a password manager?
A password manager generates, retrieves, and keeps track of every password across endless accounts in a single, virtual vault. To access each account, you only need to remember a single password to the vault. Your login data will be locked down and, at the same time, remain right at your fingertips. Common password managers include LastPass, Keeper Security, Dashlane, 1Password, Zoho, and Bitwarden. Some managers are free while others offer subscription-based services.
What are the benefits of using a password manager?
No need to memorize. You only need to remember the master password that unlocks your password vault. Using a cloud-based password manager you can access your password vault anywhere, from any device.
Auto-generate highly secure passwords. Password managers will ask if you’d like to use an auto-generated password whenever you create a new account with a website or application. These random passwords are long, alphanumeric, and essentially impossible to guess.
Save time. Beyond just storing passwords for you, many password managers also auto-fill credentials for faster access to online accounts. In addition, some can store and auto-fill name, address, email, phone number, and credit card information. This can be a huge timesaver.
Sync across different operating systems. If you’re nonprofit has cross-platform users—people who use both Apple and Microsoft, for example—they will be able to quickly access organizational passwords regardless of which platform each team member is on. Ditto for all the most popular web browsers that store passwords and sync up with password manager software such as Chrome, Firefox, Edge, Internet Explorer, and Safari.
Protect your identity. By using a unique password for every site, it's like you're using a different lock and key for each website and application used in your nonprofit. If a cybercriminal hacks one of your employee's accounts, they won’t be able to get into any of the others. This is an additional layer of security that you’ll certainly appreciate in the aftermath of a data breach.
Tech Impact's cybersecurity team advises nonprofits on password manager selection and implementation as well as IT disaster recovery plans. If you're ready to remove the risks of a data breach and begin using a password manager in your nonprofit organization, check out our cybersecurity services.