I was shocked and extremely concerned to read about UK members of Parliament sharing passwords with their staff.  How could high ranking members of a government, with a gateway into a network containing super sensitive data be so reckless?  Surely no such thing occurs in other organizations? Surely here at Mount Royal University we are much more cautious with our passwords.

I was dismayed to discover that is not the case. Passwords are being shared  between professors and graduate students, between managers and admins, between colleagues and between students .  Why is this a problem?  Just think for a minute of everything that you access with that login information.  Do you really want to give someone else that much information about you?  Do you really want someone else to be able to access EVERYTHING that you have access to? Your password is the keys to your kingdom.  Don’t give it away.

IT Services is very aware that there are many instances where you need to give people access to your email, documents or an application.  Fortunately, we have many tools at our disposal to do that without giving them access to everything else as well.

My favorite password sharing excuse is, “I can never remember my passwords, I need my admin to know them so she can remind me when I forget” . KeePass is a password manager that is easy to use and it will store your passwords for you.  It is installed on every workstation and it requires you to remember only one password. Still challenged? There are many ways to create a password that is easy to remember but very effective. Contact the IT Security Training Analyst if you are still struggling.

If you are currently sharing your passwords or using someone else’s passwords; please stop, change your password and contact the IT Service Desk to discuss your needs. They will be happy to find a solution for you. Keep your data safe, keep your passwords a secret.