Stolen login ID's fetch big bucks on the Dark Web. There’s a price for every type of account from online banking to social media. For example, hacked social media accounts will go for between $30 to $80 each.
The reliance on cloud services has caused a big increase in breached cloud accounts. Compromised login credentials are now the #1 cause of data breaches globally.
Having a personal or business cloud account compromised can lead to a ransomware infection, compliance breach, identity theft, and more.
To make matters worse, users are still adopting bad password habits that make it all too easy for criminals. For example:
34% of people admit to sharing passwords with colleagues
44% of people reuse passwords across work and personal accounts
49% of people store passwords in unprotected plain text document
Cloud accounts are more at risk of a breach than ever, but there are several things you can do to reduce the chance of having your online accounts compromised.
Use Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA)
Multi-factor authentication (MFA) is one of the best methods to protect cloud accounts. While not a failsafe, it is proven to prevent approximately 99.9% of fraudulent sign-in attempts, according to a study cited by Microsoft.
When you add the second requirement to a login, which is generally to a code that is sent to your phone, you significantly increase account security. In most cases, a hacker is not going to have access to your phone or another device that receives the MFA code, thus they won’t be able to get past this step.
The brief inconvenience of using that additional step when you log into your accounts is more than worth it for the bump in security.
Use a Password Manager
One way that criminals get their hands on user passwords easily is when users store them in unsecured ways, such as in an unprotected Word or Excel document. Using a password manager provides you with a convenient place to store all your passwords that is also encrypted and secured. Plus, you only need to remember one strong master password to access all the others.
Password managers also autofill all your passwords in many different browsers, making it a convenient way to access your passwords securely across devices.
Use Good Device Security
If an attacker manages to breach your device using malware, they can often breach your accounts easily. Just think about how many apps on your devices you can open and already be logged in to.
To prevent an online account breach that happens through one of your devices, make sure you have strong device security. Best practices include:
Antivirus/anti-malware
Up-to-date software and OS
Phishing protection (like email filtering and DNS filtering)
Looking for Password & Cloud Account Security Solutions?
Don’t leave your online accounts at risk. Contact us today and we can help you review your current cloud account security and provide helpful recommendations.
