The way cloud computing is growing, the traditional idea of a software service may soon become obsolete. Cloud applications are already being used on a large scale. All this presents a peculiar problem: password security. Given that your passwords are the only defense for all your sensitive business data, it makes sense to learn a few best practices for passwords in cloud computing.
Password Protection in Cloud Computing
Here’s what you need to look out for:
- Don’t re-use passwords: Human memory being what it is, most users tend to keep a single password across all their logins. This is an extremely vulnerable situation, as it means someone who manages to hack your Twitter account can also access your website analytics data. That’s why you need to go the extra mile and make sure all passwords across different logins are unique.
- Don’t keep it simple: While simplification is great in software, it doesn’t apply to passwords. Many accounts are compromised because the passwords chosen are too generic, too simple, or too personal (and hence easy to guess). Make sure your passwords have a twist in them, for example, “clou$d^113”, which is harder to guess.
- Don’t share passwords: As far as possible, passwords should not fall into the hands of those other than the stakeholders. That means you should never save passwords in ordinary files on your system, and also not write them down where they can be easily seen by someone.
The cloud comes with a lot of power, and of course a lot of responsibility. Managing your passwords well is one of them.
