Maintaining strong password protection within a business is essential to secure sensitive data, uphold customer confidence, and avert potentially expensive security incidents.
Encryption makes your password unreadable and unusable by hackers, protecting it both on servers and during internet transmission.
Imagine creating a strong password, but it’s stored in plain text on a server. If a hacker accesses it, your efforts are wasted, and your credentials could be sold.
Common Issues: In 2020, unprotected usernames and passwords from internet-enabled doorbells were sent to servers in China.
How Password Encryption Works:
- Symmetric Key: Uses one key for both encryption and decryption. A hacker needs this key to access your password.
- Public Key: Involves two keys—one public and one private. One key encrypts the message, and the other decrypts it.
- Hashed: Transforms your password into a random series of characters using an algorithm. The hacker must know the algorithm to decode it.
- Salted: Adds random characters to your password before hashing. The hacker needs both the hash and the algorithm to decode it. Salts can be fixed or variable.
Common Encryption Formats:
- SHA-1: Produces a 40-character string. Example:
12bf203295c014c580302f4fae101817ec085949. - SHA-1 with Salt: Adds “Free” to the password. Example:
bc6b79c7716722cb383321e40f31734bce0c3598. - MD5: Encodes into a 128-bit string. Example:
4e84f7e8ce5ba8cdfe99d4ff41dc2d41. - AES: A symmetric algorithm with variable bit lengths, making it hard to predict the outcome.
Password Encryption Alone Isn’t Enough:
- Unique: Avoid reusing passwords across systems.
- Strong: Use random word lists and dice to create passwords.
- Memorable: Keep a written list or use a digital solution for storing passwords.
Ensuring robust password protection in business is crucial to safeguard sensitive data, maintain customer trust, and prevent costly security breaches.
Original article courtesy of Okta.com
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