As it turns out, having the same password for every account may not be the best idea. 74% of IT decision-makers surveyed said past data breaches always started with privileged credential abuse. Privileged credentials are the user names and passwords that are given administrative privileges- the accounts used by your IT resources, executives and accounting personnel. Hackers are getting access into these accounts through methods such as phishing scams, key loggers, etc., and using them to steal data or money from the organization. What measures your company takes to protect against these attacks can be the difference between a minor inconvenience and bankruptcy.
Multi-Factor Authentication     Â
So why is this happening? Well, for starters, only 21% of companies have Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). MFA is a quickly growing cyber defense method which is increasingly becoming more and more vital to protecting your company. Multi-Factor Authentication can prevent data breaches from privileged credential abuse by creating an extra step between having a password and logging into an account. Multi-Factored Authentication is a must especially if you are based in the US, as a survey has found that U.S companies tend to lose $3 million more than the global average from data breaches.
Internal Data Breaches
Hackers aren’t the only problem that you have to watch out for – sometimes a data breach can be intentional from within your own company. 18% of healthcare employees are willing to sell data to unauthorized parties, which could include your social security number, health records, and phone number. This 18% said they would be willing to sell this data for as little as $500 to $1,000, a small profit for a transaction that could cost your business millions. Having a secondary step to log in, even after a password has been sold or stolen, can stop any malicious intent dead in its tracks.
Prevent Your Privileged Credentials from Being Abused
In today’s IT landscape, not taking essential precautions to protect your business is borderline negligent and could cost you millions. Simple measures to protect against the leading cause of data breaches, privileged credential abuse, such as having a password vault or using multi-factored authentication go a long way and are a must have for adequate security. Make the simple and easy choice, reinforce your security to protect your business.
Click here to learn more about how Multi-Factored Authentication can not only offer you more security, but could one day stop a hacker from breaching your data
