I was cleaning up my internet favorites the other day. One of the folders I have within my favorites is one called “Client databases,” which, oddly enough, are bookmarks to some of my clients’ online databases. Included in that folder are clients from as many as four years ago.
Just for fun, I checked to see if I could still log in to any of the databases, and lo and behold, I was able to get into some of them. Which leads me to ask: If my login is four years old and still works, how many other “old” logins are still active in their databases?
This is a concern for two reasons:
- Security. Are you aware of who still has access to your data? My clients have nothing to fear from allowing me access to their databases. But what about former employees? Are their logins still working?
- Potential costs. Most off-the-shelf databases charge per named user (or some variation of that). If you’re carrying several logins that are no longer in use, you may be paying unnecessary additional fees.
When was the last time you audited your user logins for your system? Maybe now would be a good time to check.