Who's your just in case?

I have written about backing up your computer and smart phones in the past. In fact, this is one of the more popular articles on this site and is also something all businesses need to think about. 

But there is another form of back-up that might be even more important. 
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Recently I created a new web presence for a client and they had a very, very legitimate question: what happens to our URL (the name in the address line of the browser such as www.nerdsfornormals.com) if something happens to me.

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Right now I keep all my passwords in an encrypted, password-protected file. Should someone flat steal my laptop computer or iPad, for example, there is a password for that computer which has two-factor authentication to get in. 

Assuming I haven’t noticed that my laptop or iPad are missing they still have quite the challenge to get into them. 

But then there’s another set of passwords with two-factor authentication to get into the password file. It’s pretty secure and it should be as there are counties, law enforcement agencies, churches, restaurants and others that rely on my keeping access to their systems secure. And I do. 

But what happens if I get hit by a bus, for example? Right now my wife knows the method for getting into these systems.  But what if we both get hit by the same bus? 

And this makes me wonder whom I would have so much trust in, that I could give them access to this data and know they wouldn’t do something illicit with it. So that’s something to consider for your business too. 

First of all, your passwords and access codes should be in a system that’s safe and backed up securely. There are some good systems out there for managing passwords and I can’t more strongly recommend that you consider one of these systems. 

But another consideration is whom you have enough trust in to have access to this system. And here are other considerations. 

Since there are fires and other natural disasters in the area where I live I actually want to find someone who wouldn’t be affected by the same natural disaster. So that individual should be far away geographically. In fact I’d prefer that they’re several thousand miles away. Perhaps even in another country. 

This pandemic that we’re facing now makes me seriously consider that disasters can be bigger than I had assumed in the past. This one is affecting the entire globe but I can now imagine circumstances that affect entire nations as well. 

Your data is not just something you have to think about, but your customer’s security is also important. If you have the passwords for your credit car processor taped to the underside of your computer keyboard that is doing your customers a huge disservice and could also leave you open to litigation. Expensive litigation. 

So it’s time to think about your passwords, again, and also whom you may trust to keep that information safe and secure. 
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What’s your method of keeping passwords and how easy is it to hack? Who’s your back-up just in case?