Is password security the biggest threat to managed service providers? PassPortal certainly thinks it is. A recent study conducted by the password protection software company, which markets its technology to MSPs, focused on how MSPs are looking at the issue of password security and management and uncovered some interesting data points.
- 98% of MSPs have excellent Security for Internal Networks and Systems
- Over 80% of MSPs had little or no valid protection for storing Client Passwords
- Principals had not considered the risks for Client Passwords from internal staff
- Existing Off-the-shelf Client Password Management didn’t offer enough protection
“We interviewed hundreds of MSPs and were shocked to learn that over 80% of them had little or no protection for storing Client Passwords” said Colin Knox, PASSPORTAL CEO, “They store Client Passwords on Excel spreadsheets, Word documents, homegrown database solutions and unprotected fields in their CRM or PSA system. With just one password security breach, a disgruntled employee can ruin an MSP’s reputation and put the business in jeopardy with serious legal issues.”
Having performed countless certification audits on MSPs over the years, MSPAlliance can attest to the fact that a lot of MSPs tend to focus more on network security for customers and less on how they manage and store both customer and internal passwords and login information. At particular risk is the possibility of the loss of a key technician or a disgruntled employee who might want to harm the company.
“We were able to learn a tremendous amount from the Study”, said Knox, “we listened closely to what MSPs shared with us and completely revamped the latest update of PASSPORTAL MSP. Today we released the best suited Password Management Solution for MSPs. It’s a completely hosted, cloud solution that allows MSPs to manage their portfolio of client passwords with multiple levels of security, grouped users for assigning password access and data import wizards that make it easy to get started. It runs on the web and is available from any mobile device.”
New features include:
- Granular Client Password Security; grouping passwords together in security folders
- Security Groups to manage and assign password access by categories
- Reassign Passwords when a technician enters passwords on the wrong account
- Powerful Data import from CSV files or Spreadsheets
- Additional Layer of Encryption and Data Transfer
- Per User Pricing which lowers the cost of entry for smaller MSPs
PASSPORTAL MSP has now been in production for 18 months and they boast roughly 1000 MSPs who have signed up and stored their Client Passwords for Domain Admin, Firewall, Database, Public DNS, Spam Filters, VOIP, and other line of business applications.
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