You only needed a phone and a rolodex to run a successful pet sitting business back in the day, but times sure are changing. Don’t get us wrong; you can still do things the old-fashioned way and rake in the dough, especially with the pet sitting biz poised to grow more than 10% over the next six years. Still, technology and the Internet have revolutionized how we conduct business today.
Using a state-of-the-art pet sitting app and customer relationship management (CRM) software streamlines processes, which frees you for other tasks and lets your customers know that you value professionalism. However, there are drawbacks. For example, having sensitive client data stored, including their names, contact info, addresses, and schedules, makes you a target for a cyber attack.
You’ll need to follow and encourage password security best practices to ward off cyber criminals and let your customers know that their data is as safe in your hands as their pets are. Our guide below covers everything you need to know about password security best practices!
Why Password Security is Crucial for Pet Sitters
We know—you didn’t get into the pet sitting business to worry about computer stuff. You got into it to spend time petting some special doggos and pretty kitties. Nonetheless, password security is as critical for pet sitters as it is for any other business.
Whether you’re recording their information manually into your CRM software or asking them to upload it personally on your pet sitting app, your clients are sharing data that makes cyber criminals salivate. In the event of a breach, they’ll know who your clients are, where they live, when they’ll be out of the house, and, in some cases, they may nab their payment information, too!
Obviously, you can’t allow that. Letting your clients susceptible to a cyber-attack jeopardizes their personal lives. Your weak security and failure to implement password best practices may cost you your business.
Besides, pet sitting businesses need to be aligned with industry standards and in compliance with all privacy laws. You don’t want to lose business because you let weak passwords slide on your site and app.
Characteristics of Strong Passwords
What makes for a strong password? Here are a few quick tips:
- Length: Around ten characters should do.
- Complexity: Avoid repeating characters.
- Obscurity: Your pet’s name, birthday, and other dates and personal details are easy for your friends and family to guess. Criminals may guess them, too.
- Uniqueness: Using the same password for your email, bank, pet sitting app, streaming services, etc., makes it much easier for criminals to steal everything in one fell swoop. All they need is one password, and they’ll have all the passwords.
Best Practices for Managing Passwords
It takes a little work, but implementing best practices for managing your passwords (and encouraging or requiring your customers to do the same) keeps you safe from cyber-attacks.
Using a password manager like LastPass, BitWarden, or 1Password is a quick and easy way to generate and store strong passwords. This way, you don’t have to remember a bunch of crazy numbers and letters while you’re trying to run your pet sitting business.
Regular password updates also help maximize security and keep you safe from attacks. Aim to change your passwords or require your customers to change theirs every 180 days or so to make it that much harder to infiltrate your system.
Enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA) for added security is also a growing practice among top businesses worldwide. This could be as simple as having the user enter their password and then consent to receive a 6-digit code via text to prove that they are, in fact, the true account holder.
Taking such measures increases security and helps keep your passwords strong and your data safe.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
We’ve touched on what not to do, but here are a few more common mistakes you may want to avoid when coming up with strong passwords that follow security best practices:
- Keeping a password “master list”: You’re defeating the purpose of following password security best practices if you have a piece of paper in your office or an unsecured digital document (MS Word or public Google Doc, for example) with literally everything a thief needs to steal your accounts.
- Sharing passwords: Sharing your password with someone else, even if they’re a friend or family member, makes it easier for the data to wind up in the wrong hands. You should avoid this unless it’s 100% necessary.
- Using default passwords: Don’t let the app or site choose your password. Choose something unique to you and spruce it up with a few numbers and special characters to make it harder to crack.
Securing Mobile Devices and Computers
Requiring strong passwords from your customers will go a long way toward protecting their data from an attack, but it comes down to your practices as the business owner. The devices, computers, and servers you use to store this data are arguably more critical to protecting the data than simply using stronger passwords.
Ensure all of your accounts and devices are password-protected—following the best practices we discussed above, of course—and encrypted, so cyber crooks will really have their work cut out for them if they’re trying to break in. You’ll want to set strong PINs on your phone, use biometrics whenever possible, and keep the devices physically out of the wrong hands to ensure even greater security as well.
Don’t underestimate reliable antivirus software, either, complete with all updates as they become available. Basically, the more protection you have on your devices, the safer your data, your clients’ data, and your livelihood will be.
How to Respond to a Security Breach
It’s never great when there is an actual security breach, but you have to notify your client base immediately, even if the optics are less than stellar. Send an email blast or, if necessary, reach out to your clients personally to let them know what has happened and how to reset their passwords and protect their data.
We won’t sugarcoat it: a catastrophic security breach will likely cost you some business. However, requiring and following our password security best practices minimizes your risk and ensures you and your clients are protected against cyber threats.
Conclusion
We know you didn’t get into the pet sitting business to waste time doing all this boring computer stuff, especially when plenty of precious fur babies are out there just waiting for someone kind and caring like yourself.
Password security best practices are super important in 2024, though, and they’ll become even more critical as the global pet sitting market skyrockets in size and value in the coming years.
So, review your current practices, incorporate some of our tips for maximizing password security, and don’t be shy to contact your friends here at Barketing Solutions for more info. We’re happy to review your security practices and give tips to improve things!
Don’t wait; contact us today!
Erika Godwin is the President of Barketing Solutions and the Co-Founder and CMO of ProPet Software, an industry-leading kennel management software. Erika has over 8 years of experience with WordPress and graduated from Elmira College in 2009 with a BS, Business Administration- Marketing and Management. View Erika’s Full Bio.
