The Threat Landscape
According to the Identity Theft Resource Center, one billion people have been victims of a data breach in just the second quarter of 2024. Businesses must have proactive measures in place to safeguard sensitive information. Data breaches can come from anywhere, and the most common tactics businesses face are phishing, ransomware and password attacks. As technology changes, cyber criminals change with it, developing new and more sophisticated tactics.
The global average cost of a breach has hit nearly $4.9 million this year, according to an IBM estimate. Meanwhile Chainalysis reports ransomware payments exceeding $1.1 billion in 2023. If business leaders aren’t careful to heavily invest in cybersecurity, not only will they see financial losses but will also face reputational damage and legal consequences.
Traditional Security Measures are Limited
Every business must implement common security measures including firewalls and antivirus protections as they are effective ways to protect against a breach. Passwords, however, are no longer an effective safeguard. There is too much room for user error, and it has become far too easy for bad actors to crack a password.
The Surprising Vulnerability All Business Face: Human Error
Human error factors heavily into data breaches. Workers know passwords should be complicated, stored discreetly and protected, but walk through any office in America and you will still see password Post-its strewn across desktops. Even NIST recommendations recently changed as the group recognized that overly complicated passwords offered no more protection than the length of a password. Further, the organization changed its recommendation on how frequently passwords should be updated, noting their findings were that if organizations frequently required updates, passwords would get less complex or challenging, making them easier to evade.
New employees in particular are high value targets to hackers as a typical scam – an urgent request that appears to be from the new boss invites the employee out to buy gift cards. The employee is “phished” based on known social circumstances: they’re new, they want to do well, and they don’t know any other workplace routines or protocols yet. After scanning more than 651 million malware-comprised credentials over the last year, a study from Specops Software found that 120,000 passwords contained common terms like “user”, “temp”, “welcome” or “change.” These standard practices that involve new employees’ setting up of their new workstations are also well-known by hackers and it makes new hires a top target. It’s most important to de-incentivize hackers with passwordless solutions because they store so little user data compared to password managers.
Implementing a Passwordless Solution
Passwordless solutions replace traditional passwords with more secure and convenient methods like biometrics, multi-factor authentication and token-based authentication.
There are some obvious concerns to address when changing verification methods. First, businesses must ensure a passwordless solution is scalable. Without the ability to grow with the company, the solution will be unsustainable. Choose a solution that can add more new users easily and save headaches down the road.
Telling employees their passwords are going away may raise eyebrows and cause some doubt. This is a practice that is so engrained in work and personal lives that these reactions are to be expected. However, the business’ goal should be to proactively manage this change by providing adequate training and education.
Get Your Employees’ Buy In
To help your employees get on board, make sure they understand the problems the business has faced with passwords. Have there been any recent cybersecurity threats in the business’ history? This is something to discuss at the top of training to ensure employees know that passwords are an outdated practice, and hackers can quickly pass through these. Introduce the alternative solution chosen specifically for your company to make their lives easier and the environment safer. As a bonus, they likely do not need to remember one of the hundreds of passwords they live with in their head.
When picking the solution itself, it is important for the business to first thoroughly research what needs to be protected and what needs to be corrected in a passwordless environment. This includes understanding what the risks are to the current system and identifying any security needs or vulnerabilities that may be impacted by a switch.
Key Considerations: Investment and Deployment
Potential costs of a new solution must be evaluated in this stage. To calculate this, businesses must consider the initial investment and the cost of ongoing maintenance for a new solution. There is also an important factor to evaluate: the savings potential from reduced security risks. When all of this is determined, it is time to choose the solution that works best.
The next part is the deployment itself. Using best practices assures the passwordless solution is effectively implemented. Instead of deploying at a mass scale right away, conduct a thorough pilot test. This allows real users to give feedback on whether there are any glitches in the system and gives time for corrections to be made. For example, without a small test, the consequences of an immediate deployment at-scale may run the risk of the entire company getting locked out of their accounts or facing other cyber threats.
As testing is implemented and success is assured, new policies and procedures must be developed. With clear expectations for employees in place and some guidelines to turn to, this will smooth the transition as they get used to the new technology in their daily work life.
Ongoing monitoring and maintenance are key to continuing a sustainable, successful adoption. Proactively scale the solution as the business grows and maintains its health with routine check-ins. Providing continual support and employee training to get feedback on the system and make sure it is appropriately used. This ongoing outreach, monitoring and maintenance ensures the solution is embraced by the users and stays up to date in the system.
Safeguarding Your Business Isn’t Optional
Businesses cannot keep doing the status quo and thinking that a “strong” password or frequent resets are enough to stop bad actors’ attempts to gain access and expose sensitive data for their gain. Imagine all the ways the time and money spent on managing a breach could be reallocated. On an operational level, businesses will see cost savings benefits once a passwordless solution is incorporated.
As technology continues to evolve, passwords are no longer a strong enough safeguard to protect information for regular users or organizations. Passwordless solutions offer the most effective defense against data breaches.
About the Author
Zarik Megerdichian is the visionary behind Loop8, a cutting-edge solution that protects your personal data and privacy. Loop8 uses advanced biometric technology to authenticate users, eliminating the need for conventional passwords. With seamless access and strong encryption protocols, Loop8 ensures data security through who you are and a trusted circle to verify you.
Prior to founding Loop8, Megerdichian distinguished himself as the founder and CEO of 4over.com, the biggest wholesale printing company in North America. Under his leadership, 4over.com expanded its operations nationwide, boasting a workforce of over 1600 employees across multiple locations. He can be reached on LinkedIn and at Loop8’s company website https://l8p8.com/.
