Password Managers Are a Must for Energy and Utilities Companies. Here’s A Checklist to Get Started

Originally published:April 7, 2022|Last updated:August 21, 2023|Dashlane

For those in the energy and utilities industry, adapting to change is an essential skill. Today, the industry relies heavily on new operational technology (OT), like smart meters, remote access to operations, and cloud computing and storage. 

New tech, though convenient, makes these systems more accessible to hackers. Luckily, while threat actors become increasingly savvy, so does cybersecurity. 

One of the best proactive security tools your company can implement right now is a password manager. Hackers need just one way in—most often, a stolen password—and they can do irrevocable damage. A password manager gives you a bird’s eye view of passwords at your company, including which employees are using weak or reused passwords—and that’s just one of the many benefits.

Read on to learn all of the capabilities of a password manager and why it’s essential for your utilities or energy company. Use the following checklist to get started, plus learn all the benefits of using a password manager at your utilities or energy company.

In order to start securing your logins, begin by taking stock of all the accounts your company uses. By tracing where each login is stored, who has access to it, how secure it is, and if it’s used for other accounts, you can begin to secure each account.

Here are some common accounts used by businesses in the energy and utilities sector:

Here’s a checklist you can fill out to audit all your company logins before storing them in a password manager. 

Teams in the utilities and energy sector have plenty to keep track of day-to-day, which is why convenience is key. Password managers can do a lot for your team to streamline workflow, including: 

Beyond the basics mentioned above, Dashlane has full capabilities to improve the overall cybersecurity culture at your company and keep your data safe from hackers. These key features include: 

Each employee can enter up to five email addresses to be continually monitored on the dark web by Dashlane. If Dashlane spots any compromised credentials, employees will be notified in the app and prompted to change the username and password in question. Dashlane’s Password Generator ensures that the new password will be secure. 

Employees can each view  individual Password Health scores, which tells them the overall strength of their logins. They receive a breakdown of which passwords are weak, reused, or compromised. 

A strong security culture at a company means that all employees are empowered and invested in keeping company data safe. Dashlane enables admins to foster a strong culture of security by tracking overall password health and measuring progress overtime. Admins can see which employees are using weak passwords in order to start the conversation and encourage them to make a change. 

“Groups” can be any designated group of people within your energy or utilities company, such as departments. By setting up Group Sharing in Dashlane, employees and admins can share passwords or Secure Notes within their group without compromising security, rather than on Slack, email, or the phone.

Implementing a password manager can seem daunting, which is why Dashlane is available at every stage to guide admins. Dashlane provides:

Dashlane

Dashlane is a web and mobile app that simplifies password management for people and businesses. We empower organizations to protect company and employee data, while helping everyone easily log in to the accounts they need—anytime, anywhere.

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