The first rule of cybersecurity is that you get either convenience or security; any increase in one will decrease the other. Unless you tightly enforce security, then convenience will gradually creep in until your business's devices and network are left relatively unsecured. While you can never achieve a perfectly happy medium, here are a few ways to make crucial security more convenient:

Get more intuitive two-factor authentication.

Two-factor authentication has been around for a while in one form or another. In the earlier days of network security and the Internet, people carried around physical tokens. They would input their personal password and the time-sensitive password generated by the token. If both passcodes passed the test, then the user would be allowed access. But tokens are easy to lose and long, randomized passcodes aren't anyone's first choice. Instead, apps like Duo or even using your employees' mobiles as passcode-generating tokens can do the trick. Look for programs that require two independent factors to give people off-site access, but also look for programs in which the two factors require the least amount of work and the fewest physical items.

Move to single sign-on.

A lot of employees use several online portals throughout the day. They might even be using them simultaneously. If they have to log in to Oracle, Salesforce, the company intranet, and their email, they're not going to be using complex, randomized passcodes for each program. They're going to either use the same (or basically the same) password for each portal, or the passwords are going to be the bare minimum of complexity. As time goes on and the annoyance grows, they'll even start to do both. The best way to counteract that is to implement single sign-on. Hook all of your company's assorted portals and databases to your company's intranet so employees only have to log in once. Once you cut down on the number of passwords, you far more likely to get cooperation about longer passwords and more frequent password changes.

For more security insights and technology tips that make your business stronger, contact our team today.