As a business owner, not only do you own a company, but you also own important data that you collect daily. From customers, vendors, to contractors, your business accumulates financial details and private information that you are responsible to protect.
Unfortunately, it only takes one cyber threat to expose your business to harm. This could not only damage your reputation, but also your finances. A cyber breach could either cause your customers to lose their trust in your business or could create a costly lawsuit due to the damages that have been done.
Overall, it is crucial that you protect your company from data theft and one way this can simply be done is by choosing strong passwords. With this in mind, there are seven common, weak passwords that you should avoid at all costs.
1. Password
This is the top most commonly used weak password that security professionals see in businesses. Also avoid variations of this password such as P@ssword and P@55w0rd!. Although these variations may be easy to remember, they are the top choices for hackers to try.
2. QWERTY
This is another password to avoid as it is a hacker-friendly option that was created from the sequence of letters on the top left of your keyboard. Businesses should do their best to avoid easy-to-guess password combinations and should create something unique.
3. 12345
Another similar variation of this password is 98765 or 4567. Try to avoid consecutive numbers and letter combinations at all costs.
4. BusinessName1
Including your business name in the password is not recommended as it can easily be guessed by hackers.
5. Business Address
Similar to the password above, you should not include your business’ contact information within the password.
6. Date of Birth
Unfortunately, it doesn’t take much time for a hacker to find someone’s birth date on the internet. Since this information is readily available, including your DOB in your password would be a poor choice for your business.
7. Simple Dictionary Words
You should definitely avoid using simple words that are related to your business. For example, if your store sells sporting goods, it is not recommended to use football or hockey within your password.
If you want to keep your business’ information safe, try taking the best approach to creating a strong password. First, think of a passphrase. Once you have done this, substitute parts of the phrase for different letters or characters to help make the password challenging. Also, don’t be afraid to use abbreviations. By making your password unique and difficult, it will be challenging for a cyber attacker to gain access to your business.
