How to Secure Shared Accounts Without Sharing Passwords?

Sharing accounts is inevitable in many small and midsized businesses. In an ideal setting, teams share the username and password through email, WhatsApp, Slack or spreadsheet. It goes without saying that password sharing facilitates collaboration among employees; while posing serious security risks at the same time. Password sharing for teams often brings serious security threats such as unauthorized access, password leaks, security violations and other cybersecurity issues. No doubt, it reduces administrative costs for businesses by providing shared credentials to everyone working closely. Yet, as useful as it seems, it still leaves some room for hackers. 

Hence, businesses should adopt modern password management practices, zero-compromised password sharing tools and secure protocols to strengthen shared account security. So, how can you share passwords securely while keeping your accounts protected? Let’s take a deep dive into the guide below:

Why Is Sharing Passwords a Security Risk?

As common as it is, sharing passwords is vulnerable at many stages. If sent through unsecure means, it can stay in emails, chats, archives and even on servers. There is also a chance that the recipient’s device is not compliant with security protocols. Whatever reasons could there be, having shared credentials does not mean that you have to compromise on password security.

The following are typical dangers of sharing passwords:

• Unauthorized access: The account may be accessed by anyone who manages to get the password.

• Data exposure: Emails, messages, and images may still contain passwords.

• Account takeover: Attackers may be able to access several accounts if the same password is used elsewhere.

• Social engineering and phishing: Credentials that are shared can be utilized in fraudulent schemes or intercepted.

• Lack of accountability: It might be challenging to identify who accessed an account when passwords are shared.

How to Ensure Shared Account Security? 

1. Avoid Sharing Passwords At All!

Just like you avoid sharing personal information with anyone, it is generally preferable to avoid sharing passwords too. Companies can create individual accounts to employees working on a single project, or incorporate limited access, temporary access or role-based access - instead of shared credentials for everyone. 

This approach offers multiple benefits such as:

• Every employee works under his/her distinct credentials

• Shared account access can be provided or removed on ad-hoc basis as per employees’ scope of work

• Account activity is easier to track

• You can assign different levels of permissions

2. Never Use Unauthorized Channels to Share Password

Never, I repeat, never send passwords in plain text form through channels such as WhatsApp, email, slack, skype or any shared document. These channels create a copy of your passwords on their platforms which can potentially become a security challenge. 

3. Incorporate One-Time Sharing Links

If the password sharing for teams is of deemed necessity for the business, use time-limited shareable links that expire after a certain period of time. You can also incorporate a password manager that uses encrypted password sharing mechanism to avoid data breaches and security threats.   

4. Set Up Multi-factor Authentication 

Multi-factor Authentication (MFA) provides an extra layer of protection for your sensitive passwords. If your business relies on shared credentials, your essential systems may be exposed to cybersecurity risks. Be cautious with your choices, start by replacing shared accounts with individual user accounts, and compel every user to undergo multi-factor authentication. 

5. Use A Trusted Password Manager

One of the safest ways to share passwords with others is by using a reliable password manager. Password managers are made to safely store credentials and, depending on the service, let you share specific passwords with another authorized user instead of just sending them over a regular chat message.

Finding such features in a password manager is your best bet:

• Password storage that is encrypted

• Secure password sharing

• Personal user accounts

• Controls over access

• Management of permissions

• MFA, or multi-factor authentication

• Revocation of shared access

How Zero-Knowledge Encryption Protects Shared Credentials?

If you take security extremely seriously for your business, you can look for zero-knowledge encryption password managers. One such go-to example is CredentialBase. 

CredentialBase is an empowering password manager - very different from traditional approaches. It uses zero-knowledge encryption while sharing passwords. Nothing is saved on the servers, instead enc key is saved as non-extractable CryptoKey. It has amplified the game of secure credentials sharing by one-click credit and debit cards autofills.  

Ready to share password securely with CredentialBase? Sign up NOW!