Why Is Password Security Important?

Updated on November 12, 2024.

Password security refers to the measures you take to ensure that your passwords aren’t easily guessable or instantly cracked. Strong password security is important because passwords are your first line of defense against cybercriminals and unauthorized access. Without strong password security, you risk having your accounts compromised which can lead to you losing access to your account forever, losing your money or having your identity stolen.

Continue reading to learn the importance of a strong password and the best practices you should be following to ensure strong password security.

The importance of a strong password

Creating a strong password can reduce the risk of cybercriminals guessing it and accessing your sensitive data. Keeper’s 2024 Future of Defense Report found that stolen or weak passwords remain a leading cause of breaches, solidifying the importance of creating and securely storing passwords for each of your online accounts. 

When you use weak, short passwords to secure your online accounts it makes it a lot easier and faster for a cybercriminal to crack it. On the other hand, if you use a strong password that is 20 characters long and contains a mix of uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers and symbols, it would take a cybercriminal three sextillion years to crack it. 

7 password security best practices

Here are some password security best practices you should follow to keep your accounts secure from unauthorized access.

1. Use a password or passphrase generator

Creating passwords on your own can be difficult to do which is why we recommend using a password or passphrase generator. You can find these generators for free online or if you decide to invest in a password manager, these tools are built into them. Depending on the password generator you use, you might be able to customize the length and characters used to fit your password requirements. 

2. Never reuse passwords across multiple accounts

Reusing passwords across multiple of your accounts is never a good idea because it makes you vulnerable to a password attack known as credential stuffing. Credential stuffing takes advantage of the fact that people tend to reuse their passwords. In this attack, cybercriminals use a set of stolen credentials to compromise multiple accounts at once that use the same password. To avoid having multiple of your accounts compromised at once it’s important to use a strong, unique password for each account.

3. Avoid using personal information in your passwords

Apart from never reusing passwords, it’s also important to avoid using personal information in your passwords such as your birthdate, pet’s name or any of your loved ones’ names. This is because this information can be easily found online on your social media profiles or on data broker websites. While using personal information in your passwords may make it easier for you to remember your passwords, it’s not worth it to risk having your account compromised.

4. Securely store your passwords

Securely storing your passwords is just as important as creating strong passwords. You should never store your passwords using unencrypted methods such as:

• A spreadsheet
• Your phone’s notes app
• A piece of paper
• An online document
• A flash drive

These methods of storing your passwords can lead to them getting into the wrong hands and being used to hack into your online accounts. Instead, you should consider investing in a password manager to securely store your passwords. Storing your passwords in a password manager not only protects your accounts but also makes it a lot more convenient to log into them since it has autofill capabilities. 

5. Immediately change compromised passwords

It’s inevitable that one of your passwords may appear in a public data breach. Whether you use a password manager or free dark web scan to check if your passwords have been compromised, as soon as you find out it’s important that you change your password immediately. This enables you to protect your account before a cybercriminal is able to compromise it and use your data for malicious purposes.

6. Avoid insecurely sharing your passwords

Sharing passwords is sometimes necessary, but it’s important that when you do share your passwords you do it securely. Sharing your passwords through text or email is not secure because these methods are not encrypted. Instead, you should securely share your passwords through a password manager. Some password managers like Keeper® enable you to share passwords with other Keeper users and people who don’t use Keeper so you’re not limited to who you can securely share your passwords with.

7. Enable Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA) whenever possible

In addition to using a strong password to protect your account, you should also enable multi-factor authentication. MFA helps to protect your account from unauthorized access by requiring an extra method of verification apart from your username and password. With MFA, even if your password is compromised a cybercriminal wouldn’t be able to get into your account because they would have to verify your identity, which they won’t be able to do. 

Ensure strong password security with Keeper

Strong, unique passwords are simple to create with a secure password manager. Don’t stress about coming up with passwords for every account yourself. Instead, invest in a password manager like Keeper to create, store and share your passwords securely. 

Ready to strengthen your account security? Start a free 30-day trial of Keeper Password Manager today.