Chances are you’ve had to share a password before. If you’re smart, you’ll share that password securely and by securely, I don’t mean sending it through email.

The other day I needed to have a few people in my office login to my Blackbird RSVP account to proofread an event invite I put together. I opened up my email client, typed out a quick note, added my Blackbird username and password and then fired off the email to my team without thinking twice. Within seconds I got an email back:

Unfortunately, email is insecure. I’ve changed your password, so you’ll have to reset it and use an approved way to share it with the team. We take security seriously here. Take a look at the handbook to see how to send your sensitive information safely.

Whoops.

I’ve been hacked by nefarious people before, so I should know better. I was trying to take the easy way out though by not bothering to go through the extra steps to securely share sensitive information. Spoiler alert: It never pays to take the easy way out. You’ll only get your hand slapped by your boss.

Sheepishly, I headed on over to our handbook and re-read the part where it talks about passwords. Here at Collective Idea, we use 1Password to store sensitive information. 1Password has two step verification meaning you need not one, but two passwords to login. Everyone here is a part of the Collective Idea team account. The team account has its very own account key, but every individual on the team has their own unique master password. To even log into the Collective Idea team account you would need to know both the master account key AND someone’s individual master password.

If you don’t work for an organization that uses such protective measures for sensitive information, there’s SneakyNote. Created by a former Collective Idea team member, SneakyNote can share whatever text you want, like a password, through the encrypted messaging service. The note can only be accessed once and after it’s read, it self-destructs Inspector Gadget style. Also, any unopened notes are erased after 10 minutes so you don’t have to worry about it just sitting there.

In the end, my boss wasn’t very upset with me, but it was still a good lesson learning moment for me. If you haven’t thought about using a password service like 1Password or haven’t changed up your passwords in a while, consider this your public service announcement for the day.

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Locked Green Door by LifeOfPix is licensed under Creative Commons Zero