The rumors are true! We’re rolling out LastPass to all IT Services employees.
What does this mean? Essentially, everyone will have access to LastPass via a browser plugin and/or website. Chris Edester and Dirk Tepe have also worked hard to develop an API that can be used to retrieve and store passwords using code. This API is still under development; if you have interest in the API, please look at the GIT code here and make a merge request:
https://github.com/MiamiOH/puppet-lastpass
You can expect to see this service begin to roll out in September.
What is LastPass?
LastPass is a password management tool that helps users keep track of all their passwords. It’s like a locked bank vault with all of your passwords stored inside; all you have to do is create a strong security key to protect that vault. LastPass will store all of your important passwords and sites here. This way, you only have to remember one password, instead of a hundred.
This will also simplify sharing privileged passwords among team members. As part of the rollout, we’ll be providing instructions on how to store passwords so they can be securely shared with multiple members of a team.
A friendly reminder: Password strength is critical in today’s digital age. Best security practices dictate that every login should have a different security key, but a lot of folks tend to reuse passwords or choose words that are simple to guess (e.g., “password”). A strong password consists of letters, numbers, and special characters; can be a memorable phrase; and is backed up by two-factor authentication whenever possible.
Your friendly neighborhood information security officer recommends using passwords that resemble total gibberish for all accounts, and LastPass gives you a way to do just that without having to remember that you set a password to 7dfh^34(*aAS!a)08{,.9ad and not 7dfh^34(*aAS!a)08{,.9ab.
If you have questions or concerns regarding LastPass, please contact Joe Bazeley ([email protected]) or Jeff Triplett ([email protected]).
Thanks! :)
-Elizabeth Jenike