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BuzzFeed secures sign-ins with 1Password, boosting productivity across its global workforce
BuzzFeed, Inc. is a popular global digital media company that attracts audiences with a diverse mix of pop culture, news, and entertainment content via its website, YouTube channels, app, and social media feeds.
The company’s brands, including BuzzFeed, HuffPost, Tasty, Complex Networks, and BuzzFeed Video, are home to “the best on the internet”, covering breaking news and also producing original content and videos that audiences love to consume and share.
Industry
- Digital media
Use Cases
- Securing sign-ins to SaaS tools
- Secure sharing across teams
- Creating a foundation for passwordless
Outcomes
Ensured all work-related passwords automatically comply with BuzzFeed's policies.
Tamed “password sprawl” and increased productivity.
Prevented account lockouts with secure sharing of social media account passwords.
Delivered training and support that accelerated adoption of 1Password.
1Password helps us move faster without sacrificing security.
Chris Ayala,
Vice President of IT at BuzzFeed
Challenges
BuzzFeed is a digital media company that needs to maintain the highest security standards while moving at the speed of a startup to stay at the forefront of internet culture. Before starting its security journey with 1Password, the company was looking to solve:
- Inconsistent security practices. Without a password manager like 1Password, it wasn't easy for BuzzFeed employees to create passwords that met company policy.
- Password sprawl. Some BuzzFeed team members used spreadsheets to track and share passwords. BuzzFeed wanted to reduce risk and increase visibility by rolling out a company-wide password manager.
- Partial adoption of security tools. BuzzFeed required a platform that was easy to roll out, with tailored onboarding support and resources.
100% compliant passwords, 100% of the time
Strong passwords are critical to keeping employees’ accounts secure. Before using 1Password Enterprise Password Manager, it wasn’t easy for BuzzFeed employees to create new passwords that met the organization’s requirements.
Now, it couldn’t be more straightforward. Employees who generate a new password don’t have to consider whether it’s long or random enough. 1Password automatically creates and saves an appropriate password, strengthening the organization’s security posture and giving employees peace of mind.
Employees don’t have to think when they use 1Password. When they need to generate a password, boom – 1Password generates one that complies with our policy. It’s that easy.
Phil Wilson,
IT Manager at BuzzFeed
In addition, BuzzFeed is committed to going passwordless in the future. Backed by the largest technology companies, passkeys are completely passwordless login credentials that are more convenient and secure than passwords. With 1Password in place, BuzzFeed is perfectly positioned to adopt passkeys, further strengthening its security posture and practices.
“1Password has done a terrific job supporting passkeys,” says Ayala. “Passwordless is a core objective we’re committed to making a reality for our employees.”
Taming password sprawl
Thanks to 1Password, BuzzFeed no longer has to worry about password spreadsheets. The company secures sign-ins by giving everyone a single place to store and manage sensitive logins.
1Password also gives BuzzFeed’s employees a secure way to adopt unmanaged tools that have yet to be approved by the company’s IT department. 1Password Enterprise Password Manager provides secure, trusted access to software, giving creators the confidence to explore and use the apps that will make them most productive.
Creators are the lifeblood of our company. We want to ensure we're helping them maintain access to the things they need. 1Password is at the heart of that.
Chris Ayala,
Vice President of IT at BuzzFeed
“The internet is changing more and more. Many of the services our employees want to use don't support OpenID Connect (OIDC), SSO, or other enterprise tools. You need a tool like 1Password to provide secure, trusted access to those accounts,” says Ayala.
No more shared social media account lockouts
Social media is in BuzzFeedʼs DNA. The company has created many sub-brands and amassed huge followings on Facebook, Instagram, X, and other social platforms, all of which are pivotal to its cultural and financial success. In BuzzFeed's line of business, it can't afford to miss a YouTube upload because someone is on vacation and no one else has access to the channel's password.
Enter 1Password. The password manager isn't just a place to store information. It also helps teams share that information securely. That includes passwords, credit cards, addresses, software license keys – anything the team has saved in a 1Password vault. Secure sharing is particularly important for BuzzFeed so entire teams can access social media accounts and avoid lockouts.
As Chris Ayala explains: “We're a media company that relies a lot on social platforms. When someone changes a password to a primary social account, you want it to happen seamlessly. You don't want one person changing it in the middle of the night and not telling everybody else.ˮ
1Password provides a single location to access various account passwords. And we use a lot of passwords across our social platforms! It’s incredibly helpful.
Phil Wilson,
IT Manager at BuzzFeed
Coordinated rollout for high awareness and adoption
Once BuzzFeed selected 1Password, it focused on having a successful rollout. 1Password helped BuzzFeed’s IT team with the challenge of introducing a new tool across multiple divisions.
“The challenge was trying to educate and get everybody on board with the same password manager solution. We have different cultures and are always mindful about how people will best respond on different channels,” says IT manager Phil Wilson.
1Password made it simple by training IT employees on 1Password's admin dashboard and tools. It also helped with employee training to boost awareness and increase adoption. Team members could then practice what they had learned by using 1Password at work and home.
1Password is our single source of truth for people’s sign-ins. All of their secrets live there.
Phil Wilson,
IT Manager at BuzzFeed
BuzzFeed appreciated that a 1Password expert was always available to answer any questions – anything from general architecture to how data is secured in the event of a breach. “1Password offered an unmatched level of transparency,” says Ayala. “That really went a long way.”
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