If you’re new to password managers, you might be wondering why they’re even necessary. To clear things up, we’ll explore three major password-related security challenges that businesses face and how a password manager, like Passwork, can help you and your business to work smart, boost security and reduce the stress of managing numerous credentials.
Digitalisation and human factor
The rapid shift to digital platforms, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, has significantly increased attack vectors for cybercriminals. With so many people working from home, unaccustomed to using complex security tools, human error has become a major vulnerability. Imagine an entire wave of old-school office managers in their fifties buying laptops and working from home for the first time. Of course, it’s no surprise that cyberattacks are on the rise; in fact, phishing attacks skyrocketed in 2020, with 75% of organizations experiencing some form of attack.
Human error, in this sense, needn't be accepted when you’ve got a password manager on hand. When you access a website that requires a password stored by your password manager, it is presented automatically by the software. However, this only occurs when the webpage is authentic. Phishing attacks rely on false web pages that mimic the real thing, and whilst this may trick a user, a password manager can tell fact from fiction, every time. When the user doesn’t see his password pop up on the screen, he knows that he’s not in the right place. But what if the user decides to put in the password manually? Well, password managers are on the case; oftentimes, complex and unmemorable passwords are generated, and users are forced to rely on auto-input. Human error? Eliminated.
By eliminating human error through automation, Passwork helps ensure that your company’s sensitive information is never compromised by phishing attempts or careless mistakes.
Preparing for security audits
The benefits of password managers don’t end there. Preparing for security audits can be stressful, but solutions including and similar to Passwork makes the process smoother by significantly improving password hygiene. A key part of any security audit is evaluating the strength and management of passwords. Weak, old, or compromised passwords can raise red flags during an audit and expose your company to cyberattacks.
Password managers automatically alert users when passwords need to be updated—whether they're too weak, outdated, or compromised. This keeps your password security strong and helps your business pass audits with flying colors.
Additionally, and more importantly, password managers minimize human involvement wherever possible, and as has already been established, this is key to secure operations. Should an employee leave the company, Passwork will notify administrators to change any passwords that the former employee had access to, reducing the risk of data leaks. The automation of this process ensures that passwords are continuously updated without depending on manual efforts, preventing potential security oversights.
Handling absences and staff changes
On a similar note, temporary staff absences, rather than permanent personnel changes, can also cause problems for companies without password management software. If an employee is on vacation or out sick, it can become difficult for the rest of the team to access crucial files or systems, causing inefficiencies and delays. Let’s say you’ve gone away for a relaxing beach holiday in Bali. It’s unlikely that you’ll be on your phone responding to Sharon from accounting, who needs the password to your email account, right? Well, Sharon can’t access an important PDF that was sent by a client last week, so she has to ask them to send it again. It’s inefficient, unprofessional, and will cost your company time and money.
This is an issue that password managers can solve. With solutions like Passwork, employees no longer need to memorize passwords or jot them down in hidden places. Passwork securely stores them either on your local server or in the cloud, ensuring easy access and enhanced security. This means that they can be accessed by anybody with the appropriate security clearance. Business can run smoothly, regardless of staff absences, and you can get back to reading Sapiens with your mojito.
Conclusion
Solutions like Passwork are simply a necessity in the modern world, it's more than just a password manager—it's an essential tool for modern businesses looking to strengthen their security posture and improve operational efficiency. By automating password management, reducing human error, and offering centralized, secure access to sensitive information, Passwork helps businesses safeguard their data in a fast-evolving digital world. If you’re reading this, wondering whether your business is even big enough for such infrastructure, think again; don't wait—take the next step in securing your company’s data with Passwork.
Why do I need a password manager?
Information technology is developing by leaps and bounds. There are new devices, platforms, operating systems, and a growing range of problems, which need to be solved by developers.
But, it’s not so bad—new development tools, IDEs, new programming languages, methodologies, etc., rush to help programmers. The list of programming paradigms is impressive, and with the modern multi-paradigm PL (e.g., C#), it is reasonable to ask: «What is the best way to handle it? What to choose?»
Let’s try to figure this answer out.
From where did so many paradigms come?
In fact, the answer has already been stated in this post—different types of tasks are now easier and faster to solve, using the appropriate paradigm. Accordingly, new types of problems have appeared with the IT evolution (or the old ones become relevant), and solving them using the old approach is not suitable and it is inconvenient, which resulted in rethinking things and the development of new techniques.
What to choose?
Everything depends on what is required. It is worth noting that all the development tools are different. For example, PHP with a «standard» set of modules does not support aspect-oriented programming. Therefore, the choice of methodology is quite closely linked to the development platform. Oh, and do not forget that you can combine different approaches, which leads us to the choice of stacking paradigms.
For paradigm categorization, I used to use four dimensions that are inherent in almost any task:
Data
Any program somehow works with data: stores, processes, analyzes, reports.
Actions
Any program should do something—the action is usually connected with the data.
Logic
Logic or business logic defines the rules that govern the data and actions. Without the program, logic does not make sense.
Interface
How the program interacts with the outside world.
We can go further and get deeper into this idea to come up with quality characteristics for these four measures, creating strict rules and adding in a little math, but this is perhaps a topic for another post. I think most system architects determine the characteristics of the data for a specific task on the basis of their knowledge and experience.
Once you analyze your problem to these four dimensions, it is likely that you will see that a certain dimension is expressed stronger than the other. And this in turn will determine the programming paradigm, as they usually focus on some singular dimension.
Consider this example
Orientation to the data (Data-driven design)
Data is in the consideration, rather than how they are related to each other
Types of suitable applications:
1. Grabbers/crawlers (collect data from different sources, save somewhere)
Various admin interfaces to databases; everything with a lot of simple CRUD operations.
2. Cases, when the resource is already defined, for example, it requires the development of a program and the database already exists and you can’t change the schema of the data. In this case, it may be easier to focus on what is already done, rather than creating additional wrappers over data and data access layers. Using an ORM often leads to data-driven, but it is impossible to say in advance if it is good or bad (see below).
Orientation to actions—imperative approaches to development
Event-driven Programming, Aspect-oriented Programming, etc.
Orientation to logic: Domain-driven design (DDD) and everything connected with it
Here we have an important subject area task. We pay attention to the modeling of objects, analysis of the relationships and dependencies. This is mainly used in business applications, and it is a declarative approach, and partly functional programming (tasks that are well described by mathematical formulas) is a part of DDD as well.
Orientation on the interface
Used when it is first important as the program interacts with the outside world.
An applications development with a focus only on the interface is a situation that is quite rare. Although some of the books I’ve read mention the fact that such an approach was considered seriously, and is based on the user interface, meaning it takes what the user sees directly and, on this basis, designs the data structures and everything else.
Orientation to the user interface in business applications is often manifested indirectly. For example, the user wants to see the specific data that is difficult to obtain due to what additional structures the architecture acquires (e.g., forced redundancy data). Formally, event-driven programming is included here.
What about real life?
Based on my experience, I can say that two approaches are indicated: focus on data (data-driven) and focus on logic (domain-driven). In fact, they are competing methodologies, but in practice can be combined in symbiosis, which is often known as anti-patterns.
One of the advantages of data-driven over domain-driven is the ease of use and implementation. Therefore, data-driven is used where it is necessary to apply the domain-driven (and often this happens unconsciously). Problems arise from the fact that the data-driven is hardly compatible with the concepts of object-oriented programming (of course, if you do use OOP). In small applications, these problems are almost invisible. In medium-sized applications, these problems are already visible and begin to lead to anti-patterns. On major projects, problems become serious and require appropriate action.
In turn, domain-driven wins on major projects, but on small, it complicates the solution and requires more resources for development, which is often critical in terms of business requirements (to bring the project to the market «asap», for a small budget).
To understand the differences in the approaches, consider a more concrete example. Suppose we want to develop a system of accounting for sales orders. We have things such as:
1. Product
2. Customer
3. Quote
4. Sales Order
5. Invoice
6. Purchase Order
7. Bill
Deciding what the scope is at a glance, we begin to design the database. Create the appropriate tables, run the ORM, generate essential classes (well, in the case of a smart ORM, put this scheme somewhere separately, for example, XML, and generate a database and essential classes). Finally, we get an independent class for each essence. Enjoy life; it’s easy and simple to work with objects.
Time passes, and we need to add additional logic in the program, for example, to find the products with the highest price. There may already be a problem if your ORM does not support external communication (i.e., essential classes do not know anything about the context of the data). In this case, it is necessary to create a service, which is a method, to return the suitable product for the order. But our good ORM can work with external relations, and we simply add a method to the class order. Enjoy life again; the goal is achieved, the method is added in a class, and we have almost the real OOP.
Time passes, and we need to add the same method for the quote, for the invoice, and for other similar entities. What to do? We can simply add this method in all classes, but it will, in fact, code duplication and backfire with the support and testing. We want to avoid complicating and simply copy methods in all classes. Then there are similar methods, and the essential classes begin to swell with the same code.
Time passes, and there is a logic that can’t be described by the external connections in the database. In this case, there is no way to place it in an essential class. We begin to create services that perform these functions. As a result, we find that the business logic is scattered by essential classes and services, and understanding where to look for the correct method is becoming increasingly difficult. Decide to refactor and to move out repetitive code in services—highlight common functionality into the interface (for example, make the interface IProductable, i.e., something that contains products). Services can work with these interfaces, thereby winning a little in abstraction. But it does not fundamentally solve the problem; we get more methods in the services and solutions for the unity of the painting techniques to transfer all the essential services in the classes. Now we know where to look for methods, but our essential classes lost any logic, and we got the so-called «anemic model.»
At this stage, we are completely gone from the concept of OOP—the object stores only the data, all the logic is in separate classes, and there is no encapsulation and no inheritance.
It is worth noting that this is not as bad as it may seem—nothing prevents implementing unit testing and the development through testing (TDD) to integrate dependency management patterns (IoC, DI), etc.. In short, we can live with it. Problems arise when the application will grow large—when we get so many entities that it’s unrealistic to keep in mind. In this case, the support and development of such an application would be a problem.
As you have probably guessed, this scenario describes the use of the data-driven approach and its problems.
In the case of domain-driven, we would proceed as follows. Firstly, there is no database designing in the first stage. We would need to carefully analyze the problem domain context, model it, and move on to OOP language.
For example, we can create an abstract model of the document, which would have a set of basic properties. Inherit from this a document that has the products, to inherit from this a «payment» document, with the price and billing address, and so on. With this approach, it’s pretty easy to add a method that finds the most expensive product—we just add it to the appropriate base class.
As a result, the scope of the problem will be described using the OPP to the fullest.
But there are obvious problems: how to store data in the database? Actually, it will require the creation of a function for mapping data from models to the fields in the database. Such a mapper can be quite complex, and when you change models, you also need to change the mapper.
Moreover, you are not immune from errors in the modeling, which can lead to complex refactoring.
Summary:
Data-driven vs Domain-driven
Data-driven
Pros
1. Allows you to quickly develop an application or prototype
2. Convenient to design (code generation, scheme, etc.)
3. Can be a good solution for small or medium-sized projects
Cons
1. Can lead to anti-patterns and loss of the OOP
2. Leads to chaos on large projects, complex support, etc.
Domain-driven
Pros
1. Use the power of OOP
2. Allows you to control the complexity of the scope (domain)
3. There are a number of advantages that are not described in the article, for example, the creation of the domain of language and the use of BDD
4. Provides a powerful tool for developing complex and large solutions
Cons
1. Requires significantly more resources for the development, which leads to greater solutions cost
2. Certain parts are becoming harder to support (mapper data, etc.)
So, what the hell should I choose?
Unfortunately, there is no single answer. Analyze your problem, resources, prospects, goals, and objectives. The right choice is always a compromise.
Application design: Data-driven vs Domain-driven
Positioning is an important aspect
Positioning is so important that, if this stage is skipped, all other efforts of promotion of the product could be ruined. Good positioning should be short, clear, and understandable. Therefore, it is often described in one sentence or is made to fit in a tweet. Positioning should be directly related to the main problem that the product will solve for the users.
The difficulty is that many a-times, the product generally solves various problems for different users. For example, an online accounting system providing the same capabilities solves different problems for the entrepreneur and accountant. As to the question «Who are you?», different answers may be given, depending on who is posing the question. Positioning is closely related to the target audience segmentation. Often, I have heard startups saying that their product is made for all users of the Internet, or something like that, which is definitely an outlandish type of segmentation.
Begin to break your users into segments. Try implementing any different characteristics like gender, age, income level, interests, etc. The task to break all users into segments is performed in such a way that all were uniform within a single segment. That is, from the perspective of the product, all users of one segment are like twins and are indistinguishable to a significant extent.
Take one segment user and tell him about the product. Then afterward, take any other user of the same segment, and their stories about the product should be similar. Begin to divide users from the largest to smallest. Specify what problem your product solves for each segment. If more than one problem is obtained from a single segment, the segment shall be divided into further sub-segments.
As a result, you should get:
1. The segment and its characteristics (feature set)
2. The problem is solved by the users of that segment
3. Positioning for this segment. In this case, the product can be position in a single sentence.
From this scheme, you automatically get ready-made advertising campaigns for Yandex, VKontakte, Google, Twitter. And you can understand where to look for leads and what attraction channels to use based on segment performance. By looking at the segments tree, you can go in the opposite direction, summarize a number of problems, and get the main product positioning. And a detailed list will be a good start for the development of the Landing page.
Take, for example, the development of websites, the likes of ‘heavily worked-on websites, will soon be performed using innate abilities.
For whom?
1. For all the sites which may need this? — Well, yes.
2. For business? — Yeah right!
3. For business owners that have heard something about the Internet, interested in finding customers? — Getting Warmer
4. Does this business have a site?
5. Is this a recently established business?
6. Volumes (for example, how many employees)
7. Lines of business
Eventually, we obtain a segment such as the following:
1. Recently established company (6-12 months old)
2. with a small staff (10-20 people).
3. Recently launched, no site at the moment hasn’t met targets as yet, and the like,
4. are not willing to devote a lot of money on the development of the site
5. On the question of whether or not a site is needed, the most likely answer is, «Well, of course, it is needed»
6. Does not plan to actively attract customers via the Internet.
The situation is one of those «websites needed, well so that we owned one.» The problem is that this is not represented on the Internet Positioning: «We are setting up a website for business start-ups on the Internet for 1 week and for so many rubles.» This is not ideal, but the point is clear. Offering affordable, or perhaps typical or conventional solutions, Landing pages, with minimal customization, cheap but good and fast. It is worth noting that in the site-building world, young companies just need to be positioned and well-niched. Sites solve many problems and are needed for numerous problems to be solved, so cramming the site under a one-size-fits-all does not work.
So, in summary:
1. Divide your customers into segments as per the problems that your product solves. The better the homogeneity of the segment, the better the result (but without fanaticism)
2. Check № 1 — segment should easily explain what you have to offer. Without any "and"s and "or"s.
3. Checking № 2 — product positioning for the segment, tagline, the main message, are all to be contained within the tweet.
4. Segmentation and positioning are closely linked. One may be used to create the others, and vice versa.
5. Segmentation and positioning give insight into what customers to look for, how to look, where to look for them, and what particular offer to give them. You can write a statement for Sales.
6. Structuring allows you to identify the main problems to be solved by the product, and a host of other artifacts that can be used, for example, for setting up a Landing page.
Market segmentation
After initializing their first releases or MVP (first minimal product-release), startups are faced with the challenge of promoting and marketing on the Internet. If they do this through Yandex or Google AdWords, a single click designed to attract customers can cost $1 or more, and the cost of publishing a single article onto a popular media site can be more than $ 1,000 per campaign. New startups, even when heavily propped-up investment-wise, and enjoying huge financial backing, cannot afford to walk on such a grand and costly scale.
Or they can, but here is a well-established fact: all funds are consolidated only after a couple of months; whether there were any sales or not, and they ran out of money for further product development.
Very often, startup beginners say: "We do not know how much we need for marketing. How do we evaluate this?", or: "We need ten million on marketing, hmm, no, let's make it twenty ...".
Then, they quickly start buying ads and spending money in vain, and slowly begin to realize that marketing is one hell of a very expensive endeavor. You may have a great product, everyone may like it, everyone may be dying to use it, but then, it is necessary to spend a lot of money on advertising. Well, afterwards, they start looking for an investment specifically for marketing.
So, rounding up: marketing and promotion of IT-startups on the Internet proves to be expensive, unclear and unpredictable.
Familiar?
In fact, the promotion of start-ups is actually understandable and predictable. Whether it will be costly or not depends on each particular situation.
It is really quite possible to promote IT-startups using only little or no financial investment at all. In this case, impressive and surprising results can be achieved.
In the open world, these techniques are called growth hacking
And, just a small faq on explosive promotions:
1. Wow, is it really possible for any project to be able to directly unleash a host of ads without money, and without doing anything at all?
− No, not any project. A lot of work still has to be done. But for many projects, not a lot of money is spent.
2. So, if not ANY project, then which ones?
− First of all, IT-startups or projects that are well-integrated on the internet. But in general, the general principles apply everywhere.
3. So, purchasing advertising space will be a thing of the past?
− Yes and no. Advertising will always be a great help if you can afford it, and sometimes, may be the only option.
4. Do I still have to learn about marketing or hire a marketer?
- You needs to know the fundamentals. Growth hacking and marketing are related, but not deeply. This a kind of side-approach, where your brains, simple logic, entrepreneurial skills; all really matter. Certainly not misgivings.
How growth hacking works
The basic idea of the explosive product is very simple and logical. If your product is good, its users will talk about it themselves. They only need help to do that. Practically almost all the techniques can be reduced to one single aim: to increase virality without any cash expenditures.
The obvious pre-condition is that your product really needs to solve user problems, should be necessary, useful and convenient. You must have a high-quality product.
I am sure that all startups find their desired product, but this is not always the case.
Explosive advertising works well for IT-startups, because users can easily talk about it and attract other users, the internet is there to help. In addition, explosive advertising is a pack of little tricks that helps you get close to your audience; motivate, talk about the product, test ideas, increase conversion, and so on.
In summary,
1. "Standard way" - more money into advertising, greater audience reach, more new users.
2. Explosive advertising - users themselves are involved together with their friends. Avalanche exponential growth. Quality product needed.
3. Divide all your customers into particular segments according to the problems that your product solves. The more homogeneous the segment, the better (but without fanaticism)
4. Check №1 - It is very easy to explain what you have to offer if this is done segment by segment. Without any "and" and "or".
5. Checking №2 - Product positioning for the segment, tagline, the main message should all be contained within the tweet.
6. Segmentation and positioning are closely linked. One can lead to the other, and vice versa.
7. Segmentation and Positioning give insight into what customers are looking for, how to look, where to look for that particular offer. You can write a statement for sales.
8. Structuring allows you to identify the main problems to be solved by the product, and a host of other artifacts that can be used, for example, to create a Landing.
What is Growth Hacking
1. PureVPN
PureVPN, which is one of the best VPN apps for Android devices, operates a self-managed VPN network that currently stands at 750+ Servers in 141 Countries & promises the fastest speed possible. Since we own our network, there are no third-parties involved and NO logs of your activities.
2. SSTP VPN Service
SSTP VPN Service provides secure data encryption via SSL channels. It also comes equipped with data integrity verification for fluid data transmission without packet losses. What is SSTP VPN Protocol? Secure Socket Tunneling Protocol (SSTP) is a VPN tunneling protocol that ensures the safe transfer of your online traffic by employing high-grade data encryption. Our SSTP VPN service makes sure that the data you send or receive is completely secure and safe from prying eyes, making us the most secure VPN service.
3. Detectify
Detectify is a web security service that simulates automated hacker attacks on your website, detecting critical security issues before real hackers do. We provide you with descriptive reports of the results so that you can continue to build safe products.
4. StopTheHacker
Everything you need to protect your website and online reputation StopTheHacker’s comprehensive suite of website healthcare services that safeguard your website, helping you prevent, detect and recover from a hacker attack. We catch more malware than anyone else, using Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) techniques.
5. SiteLock
SiteLock is the global leader in website security solutions. We are the only provider to offer complete, cloud-based website protection that finds and automatically fixes threats, prevents future attacks, accelerates website speed, and meets PCI compliance standards — all with 24/7 U.S. based phone support. See below for the complete list of the SiteLock family of products and services.
6. Pentest Tools
Pentest-Tools.com is a collection of ethical hacking tools which enables you to test the security of websites and network infrastructures from a remote location. You need to verify the behavior of a service from a different IP address. Your (company) firewall does not allow you to access some ports on the target system. The target system has blacklisted your IP address. You want to validate your tools findings using a different toolset. You do not have the tools from our website on your local machine.
7. Acunetix
Acunetix is the leading web vulnerability scanner used by serious fortune 500 companies and widely acclaimed to include the most advanced SQL injection and XSS black box scanning technology. It automatically crawls your websites and performs black box AND grey box hacking techniques which finds dangerous vulnerabilities that can compromise your website and data. Acunetix tests for SQL Injection, XSS, XXE, SSRF, Host Header Injection and over 3000 other web vulnerabilities. It has the most advanced scanning techniques generating the least false positives possible. Inbuilt vulnerability management helps you prioritize and manage vulnerability resolution. Acunetix is available on premise and online. Get a free online account featuring one year of free network security scans or download the scanner itself!
8. Private Communications Corporation
Public WiFi signals in hotels, coffee shops, and airports are not secure. Anyone using the same hotspot can intercept and hack your communications. Your usernames, passwords, and other private information can be stolen out of the thin air. Private WiFi protects your identity and personal information by encrypting your WiFi signal. Everything you do online is protected with bank-level security, so you can surf, share, shop, and bank with confidence.
9. Mailfence
Mailfence protects you against a variety of security and privacy issues: eavesdropping on your Internet communication, government surveillance programs, unauthorized content analysis, email and identity forgery.
10. MsgSafe
Instantly create as many email addresses as you need - each associated with their own group of contacts. All email stored at MsgSafe.io is encrypted. Protect your entire family or organization by managing all virtual mailboxes and email addresses with the domain you already own. We are dedicated to actively improving privacy protection with innovative technology.
11. Hush Communications Canada Inc
Enhanced email security to keep your data safe. Hushmail is like your current email service – you can read and compose your email on the web, smartphone, and everywhere you work – but we’ve added important security features to help keep your data safe.
12. Sendinc
Sendinc ensures your messages are encrypted to the highest standards. There is no software required for you or your recipients, and you can use your existing email address. Most importantly - because Sendinc does not store encryption keys - only your recipients have the ability to decrypt your messages.
13. Virtru Corporation
Virtru is your data privacy force field, wrapping and protecting emails and files wherever they’re shared. It’s easy-to-use data security software that ensures audit and control
14. Beyond Security
Test for malware, SQL injection, XSS and other vulnerabilities. Nothing to download or install, no interruption of your visitors. No password access is required.
15. SSL Labs
This free online service performs a deep analysis of the configuration of any SSL web server on the public Internet. Please note that the information you submit here is used only to provide you the service. We don't use the domain names or the test results, and we never will.
16. Sucuri Inc
Website Malware Cleanup Got Malware? Not sure how to clean it up? Sucuri specializes in hands-on remediation. We offer professional malware clean up without the hassle. No need for extra burden on your resources, we do it all for you Website Malware Scanning — sucuri scanners use the latest in fingerprinting technology allowing you to determine if your web applications are out of date, exploited with malware, or even blacklisted. Our Scanner also monitors your DNS, SSL certs & WhoIs records. Website Malware Monitoring — be at ease knowing you have Sucuri monitoring your site. We can identify if your site has been hit with the latest malware attack and alert you to take action. Receive alerts anytime anything changes via Email, Twitter, or RSS Website Malware Cleanup — Want the flexibility to schedule site integrity checks? You got it! Schedule scans of your sites to ensure your minimizing your security risks. You can also filter specific items on your site that change often, the power is yours.
17. Quttera
Get malware detection, blacklisting check, site clean-up services, and other essential tools for the safe and trusted website.
18. UpGuard
UpGuard discovers the configuration state of every information asset connected to your infrastructure, with or without an agent. Understand the baseline state of your infrastructure for complete awareness of even the most complex enterprise environments. Whether on-premises or in the cloud, configuration monitoring has never been this easy or scalable.
19. Skybox Security
With Skybox on your team, you have total visibility of your attack surface to contain cyberattacks immediately. Gain the advantage over threats with comprehensive vulnerability intelligence. Zoom in on security control gaps with cutting-edge cybersecurity analytics.
20. Akamai Technologies
In a faster forward world, innovation doesn't wait for technology. Akamai is the global leader in Content Delivery Network (CDN) services, making the Internet fast, reliable and secure for its customers. The company's advanced web performance, mobile performance, cloud security and media delivery solutions are revolutionizing how businesses optimize consumer, enterprise and entertainment experiences for any device, anywhere.
21. Cloudflare
Online threats range from nuisances like comment spam and excessive bot crawling to malicious attacks like SQL injection and denial of service (DOS) attacks. Cloudflare provides protection against all of these types of threats and more to keep your website safe.
22. Trustwave
ModSecurity is a toolkit for real-time web application monitoring, logging, and access control. I like to think about it as an enabler: there are no hard rules telling you what to do; instead, it is up to you to choose your own path through the available features. That's why the title of this section asks what ModSecurity can do, not what it does.
23. Zscaler
Zscaler is an exciting, high-growth technology company. As the most innovative firm in the $35 billion security market, the company is focused on bringing cloud computing to internet security. Just as Salesforce transformed the CRM market, Zscaler is revolutionizing the world of internet security.
24. StackPath
StackPath is the intelligent web services platform for security, speed and scale. It is the first platform to unify enterprise security solutions by leveraging collaborative intelligence that makes each service smarter and more secure with every threat detected, in addition to vastly improving the customer experience. More than 30,000 customers, ranging from Fortune 100 companies to early stage startups already use StackPath technology. Headquartered in Dallas, Texas, StackPath has offices across the U.S. and internationally.
25. FireEye
FireEye understands cyber attacks and the threat actors responsible for them better than anyone else. FireEye learned that technology alone isn’t enough to combat cyber attackers, which is why our solution takes a three-pronged approach that combines innovative security technologies, world-renowned expertise, and deep threat intelligence capabilities. Unlike other solutions, we address the entire security operations lifecycle — every critical issue before, during and after an attack.
26. Integrity360 — CISO as Service
You trust your systems and procedures and the people on your team every day to deliver shareholder value and keep your customers happy. That trust is what gives you peace of mind. At Integrity360 we have earned the trust of over 300 of Europe’s leading companies from telecoms to banking, e-commerce to semi-states, education to healthcare and retail.
27. IPV Security
At the core of our methodology lies the focus on the customer’s business assets — i.e. analyzing the assets that are crucial to the business needs of the corporation and integrating them with a technical model of the IT systems and applications. The outcome is a holistic view of the Information Security Risks in the organization that is focused and prioritized on the immediate actions that need to be done in order to close and mitigate the critical security gaps. The services are offered on a continuous basis or as a one-time audit.
28. EthicalHat
Maintaining an Information Security System can be a lot of work, which is why many businesses employ Chief Information Security Officers to take charge of this responsibility. Unfortunately, hiring a full-time CISO can be very expensive, which may make it a less-than-optimal choice for small or new companies that are already overburdened with the many expenses and worries of maintaining a successful business.
29. FRSecure LLC
FRSecure is a full service information security consulting and management company. If you need anything security related, from assessments to social engineering to security training to policy development etc., give our team of experts a call and find out how to get our experience working for you.
29 best useful services to protect your business
A couple of guesses—your mother's maiden name, your date of birth, your pet's name. And Bam! Your password is stolen.
Password theft is becoming more common every day. While one of the most notorious incidents was the 2014 Russian hacker incident that compromised more than 1.2 billion passwords, this is far from an isolated event. There are news stories about password-related breaches almost every day. And yet, many people continue to use weak, easily guessable passwords.
Why? Because they’re easy to remember. But as simple as these passwords are for you, they’re even easier for hackers to crack. This is a serious concern for businesses, where cybersecurity is paramount.
Why Security Policies Alone Aren't Enough
Large enterprises often implement password policies requiring employees to use strong passwords. However, since it's easier to remember short passwords, many employees disregard the policies and choose weak passwords. A policy alone isn’t much help here.
The solution? A corporate password manager that ensures strong, unguessable passwords are used across the company. By using the right technology, you can significantly reduce the risk of a data breach.
While a corporate password manager can choose passwords for you, how do you choose the right one for your business? Here are some tips to help you find the best software for your enterprise.
Tip #1: Choose the Right Solution for Your Enterprise
Password management solutions typically come in two forms: SaaS (cloud-based) or on-premise. Both have their advantages, depending on your company’s needs.
- SaaS (Software-as-a-Service): This option is managed by the provider, and you typically pay a subscription fee based on the number of users or the level of service. SaaS solutions are great for small- to mid-sized businesses, as they offer flexibility, scalability, and minimal setup costs.
- On-Premise: With an on-premise solution, the software is hosted on your company’s own servers. While there’s a higher upfront cost for hardware and software licenses, this option is ideal for larger enterprises that require full control over their data for compliance or security reasons.
Both options have their merits, so choose a vendor that offers both SaaS and on-premise solutions. This way, you can make a decision based on your company’s specific needs, ensuring you have the right balance between cost, security, and scalability.
Tip #2: Identify Potential Vulnerabilities
A critical feature of any corporate password manager is its ability to safeguard your data against vulnerabilities. Before committing to a solution, take the time to identify any weak points in the software.
Here’s a quick test: Sign in to the password manager and press F12 to open the browser’s developer console. In the “Network” tab, check for any external requests, like analytics scripts or third-party integrations. A secure password manager should not allow external third-party scripts that could expose you to cross-site scripting (XSS) or other attacks.
When third parties are allowed to call into the system, they can make the system vulnerable. Whether you prefer a SaaS password manager or an on-premise password manager, it should hold all sensitive information in such a way that external applications cannot access them.
Tip #3: Verify Encryption Standards
The password manager should store all passwords in an encrypted form. To verify this, use the browser’s developer tools again (F12 → Network tab). Now open any website where you need to sign in. Save the password in the password manager. Check whether the password appears as plain text or in encrypted form.
If it’s stored in plain text, the system is vulnerable to hacks. Strong encryption is essential. Look for password managers that use AES-256 encryption combined with an RSA handshake, which is the gold standard for secure data encryption.
Different password managers have different encryption standards. The highest cipher is AES-256 with an RSA handshake. This is military-grade encryption and is virtually unhackable. If your corporate password manager provides this level of encryption and owns its own servers, you don’t have to worry about the security of your information.
Tip #4: Choose a Vendor with Transparent Policies
When selecting a password manager, transparency is key. Check the vendor’s website for whitepapers and documentation on the algorithms and cryptography they use. Vendors with open-source or auditable code are preferable, as they demonstrate a commitment to transparency and security.
Zero-knowledge encryption is another critical feature. This means that the vendor has no access to your master password or any of your sensitive data. For instance, Passwork ensures all passwords are stored in encrypted vaults using a 256-bit cipher, making them accessible only to the user.
Opting for an open-source solution is a smart move, as it allows you to inspect the code and confirm that the cryptography being used is reliable and secure.
Tip #5: Ensure Auditability
If you opt for an on-premise solution, auditability is important. You should be able to inspect and audit the internal code to verify that it meets your company’s security standards.
Regular password audits are also essential for maintaining a secure system. A good password manager will automatically notify you when passwords need to be updated due to age or reuse across multiple services. This feature helps maintain optimal security across your entire organization.
If the code is open-source, you may even have the ability to customize it. However, be cautious, as making changes to the code can introduce instability. Always consult with the vendor before making any significant modifications.
Tip #6: Implement Two-Factor Authentication (2FA)
A reliable corporate password manager should support strong two-factor authentication (2FA) options to enhance security. Passwords alone aren’t always enough to safeguard sensitive data, as they can be stolen or cracked. 2FA ensures that even if a password is compromised, an additional authentication factor—such as a code sent to your phone or an authentication app—protects your accounts.
When selecting a password manager, ensure it integrates with a variety of 2FA methods, such as time-based one-time passwords (TOTP) or SMS codes. Implementing 2FA will greatly reduce the risk of unauthorized access to your corporate accounts, making it an essential security measure for any business.
Tip #7: Test the SSL Security
Advanced corporate password management tools use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). The SSL transfers data securely between the client and the server. Passwork uses SSL along with AES-256 bit encryption and RSA handshake to ensure your data is encrypted according to the highest standards.
There are several online tools to check if there are any potential issues with the SSL quality of the password manager. With tools such as SSL Labs and SSL Checker, you can find out if the SSL certificates of the password manager are valid.
Tip #8: Look for Flexibility Across Platforms
A good corporate password manager should work seamlessly across all platforms and devices your employees use. Whether it’s desktop or mobile, macOS, Windows, iOS, or Android, the solution should offer compatibility with all major operating systems.
Additionally, ensure the password manager offers browser extensions for popular web browsers such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and Edge. Syncing across devices is another crucial feature. If an employee saves a password on their desktop browser, it should automatically be available when they log in on their mobile device.
The Bottom Line
There are several corporate password managers available, but make sure you choose the best one. Your password manager should not only be secure but also adaptable to your company’s needs. If you find a password manager that meets all the criteria listed above and is affordable, choose it to safeguard your passwords.
Remember, security isn’t an area where you can afford to cut corners. Your enterprise passwords are extremely important so don’t compromise on quality. Choose password manager that meets all your security requirements, including strong encryption, transparency, auditability, and two-factor authentication.
As the saying goes, “If you’re not paying for the product, you are the product.” Make the right choice by selecting software that keeps your company’s details safe. It not only simplifies things for your employees but also ensures your valuable information remains secure from prying eyes.