Forget weak passwords and automate password security
By Jon Melloy, Practice Protect
October 11, 2023
In today's fast-paced digital landscape — where security breaches are a constant threat — password management is a critical concern for businesses. According to Verizon’s annual
Data Breach Index Report, up to 80% of data breaches are a result of compromised login credentials.
One of the quickest, easiest and most cost-effective ways of reducing your cyber risk is to enforce password security within your business. But security shouldn’t come at the price of convenience, and setting up the correct password controls can free you from the annoyance of constantly having to click “Forgot Password.”
The password predicament: A growing challenge
Passwords, despite their ubiquity, come with a host of challenges.
- Weakness: One of the most prevalent problems is the use of weak passwords. Many users opt for easily guessable passwords, leaving their accounts vulnerable to hacking.
- Reuse: 54% of all employees reuse passwords across multiple work accounts. The problem is that once one of those passwords is breached, other accounts that share the same password are then in danger of being breached as well.
- Data breaches: High-profile data breaches have exposed billions of usernames and passwords, resulting in widespread identity theft and security concerns.
- User friction: Managing multiple complex passwords can be a source of frustration for users. The need to remember and frequently update passwords can disrupt workflow and productivity.
Password management for accounting firms
Outside a host of challenges for the general user, password management is even more crucial for accounting firms.
- Time constraints: Accounting professionals are often short on time, with a constant need to focus on winning new business and providing quality service to clients. Spending time on password security is not an efficient use of their valuable time.
- Productivity drain: The time spent by team members searching for or resetting passwords can have a significant impact on productivity. It's not just a security issue — it's also a matter of workflow efficiency.
- App and password sprawl: As accounting firms rely on an increasing number of cloud applications, managing, sharing and securing multiple passwords becomes a daunting task. App sprawl and password sprawl are on the rise, making password management even more challenging.
Boosting productivity across your firm with Practice Protect
Having worked with CPAs on their cybersecurity needs for the last decade, our team at
Practice Protect understands the importance of securing access to accounting clouds apps and how it reflects on the firm’s overall productivity. Supporting more than 23,000 CPAs, Practice Protect is the largest
access management platform that secures everything that accountants use.
Ease of control in a cloud-based firm
In an accounting firm where staff are working from different locations, it’s important that they have access to all the apps they need to ensure their workday runs smoothly.
Practice Protect is a solution that helps staff access all the apps they need with a single sign-on (SSO) solution and single pane of glass access. Give staff the tools they need and simultaneously mitigate your cyber risk by not giving them access to apps they don’t need.
Ease of mind when it comes to remote work
With team members no longer centralized in the office, ensuring that you can easily revoke their access if they go on an extended vacation or leave your firm is a must.
Practice Protect lets you lock a user’s access with just one click of a button, giving you peace of mind that client data is protected against all possible scenarios.
A secure and productive future awaits
Password management is a critical aspect of modern business operations — particularly for accounting firms dealing with time constraints, productivity challenges, and the complexities of app and password sprawl. Embracing the new way of password security can revolutionize your practice, streamline workflow processes, enhance security and provide peace of mind.
Jon Melloy serves as the head of growth for Practice Protect, the leading cybersecurity platform for accountants worldwide. With an extensive background in data security and the accounting industry, Jon works with accountants daily to ensure that their people, process, and software are positioned for security.
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