Court reporters are the caretakers of private, sensitive testimony. How do they protect its integrity as well as its confidentiality from deposition to delivery? The key is having a strong password for whatever system they use to send files, whether DropBox or the variety of other FTP sites available.

Could you use a refresher on ways to practically guarantee a great password? We’ve asked our corps of reporters at DLE Reporting for their favorites, and here’s what they shared:

• Longer passwords are more secure, so keep yours at least eight characters or more.
• Never give out your password to anyone.
• Don’t reuse passwords. Many security compromises are the result of the same passwords across many accounts, like email, social, and financial. If one of the accounts is breached, there’s a greater chance that they’ll all be at risk.
  It’s not personal. Don’t ever include your kids’ names or birthdays or references to your hometown you love more than anything in the world. If a hacker is trolling your social media accounts, they could easily glean hints from your postings.
• Don’t fall for phishing attacks. If one of your sites emails and asks you to log in, change your password, or provide any other personal information, chances are that it may be a hacking attempt. Check the return email for suspicious addresses.
• Don’t be obvious. Password123456 is obvious. MJU7nhy6BgT5 is not remotely obvious. The problem with the complicated option is that it’s extremely difficult to remember.
• Make it easier on yourself. Consider using a password manager, like RoboForm or Lastpass, which help you create a different very strong password for each of your sites. The bonus is that you are only responsible for remembering the one password that allows you to access the program or secure site that stores your passwords for you.
• At DLE Reporting, our intense focus on maintaining our clients’ security and our own are paramount to our success. For more information on how to join our team or secure our stellar legal support services, give us a call.