On Tuesday, a U.S. security firm uncovered that a group stole 1.2 billion Internet user credentials in what is being called the largest security breach in recent history.

If you’ve seen the news coverage of this story, you’ve probably heard experts tell you to change your passwords right away. That’s what we recommend as well. Here are Terra Nova’s five easy tips for generating strong passwords.

Passwords changed. Now what? Here’s the problem: Our Death by 1,000 Cloud Apps report found an average of 14.3 cloud apps per business. For users, in a crisis like this, this means you’re asking them to devote a LOT of time to changing their passwords. At this point, you have to be worried that your users are starting to ignore you every time you ask them to change their passwords. After all, Heartbleed was just a few months ago; and there will probably be yet another one a few months hence. You need your users to have strong passwords. But as logins and password-reset requests both multiply, it’s very probable that your users are taking password shortcuts.

Single sign-on makes strong passwords more likely: A Single Sign-On service like Terra Nova’s AppID provides users access to all their cloud applications with just one strong password to remember. Single sign-on has many benefits for users and admins. But in the context of the most recent hack, one of the key benefits is that it’s much easier to get your users to change their passwords.

Here’s 5 ways an SSO solution helps promote strong passwords and better security:

• Users only have one passwords to remember, so they’re more likely to make it a STRONG password
• Users can easily remember one password, even if it’s strong, so they won’t write their passwords down or engage in other risky activity
• You can add extra security via 2-factor authentication to access the portal for protection beyond passwords
• In case user’s device is lost or stolen, you can disable their SSO portal in a single click
• Finally, when a global hack does happen, users only have one password to change—instead of dozens

Make sure you’re protected. Learn more about Terra Nova’s AppID or give us a call at 770.788.8089 to discuss pricing options.