How Password Managers Eliminate the Sticky-Note Exposure

Companies invest millions of dollars annually in advanced measures to prevent cyberattacks. Too often, it can all be undone by a sticky note.

Despite years of warnings about the risks, users still write passwords on sticky notes or in notepads they keep near their work devices. A Bitwarden survey found that 33 percent of users resort to the sticky-note method, and 25 percent reuse passwords across 11 or more accounts.

Password managers encourage more responsible behaviors by eliminating the burden of creating, typing, changing, and remembering passwords. With a password manager, users can easily create a unique password for each account and store all passwords in an encrypted vault that is accessed with a single master password.

Password managers range from free consumer-grade solutions to more advanced enterprise-grade solutions. Free versions are typically limited in terms of the number of passwords and devices. Professional editions offer more robust features, such as strong encryption and multifactor authentication. Some organizations also adopt enterprise-class solutions that integrate with their user identity management tools.

Whether you are using a password manager at home or in the office, it is important to choose one that is secure. Some features to look for include:

• Secure storage. The solution should store passwords in an encrypted vault, either on your local device or in the cloud. It should use robust encryption such as AES-256, making it virtually impossible to crack.

• Password policy enforcement. The solution should encourage password best practices by automatically generating passwords that meet minimum length requirements and use a combination of character types.

• Autofill. The vault should autofill login credentials across devices to save time and make it more likely that you will use a strong, unique password for each account. Best-in-class solutions verify the website domain to reduce the risk of phishing-related attacks.

• Multi-device syncing. The password manager should provide one account to be used across work and personal devices and automatically update passwords across synced devices.

• Separate business and personal vaults. The ability to easily switch between work and personal vaults discourages password reuse. It also allows you to isolate sensitive information from different aspects of your life.

• Single sign-on (SSO). SSO is a nice-to-have feature that simplifies access to applications and services. You gain one-click access from within the password manager.