Here's Your Friendly Reminder to Check Your Passwords

Don't go into 2026 with risky passwords — your brand reputation will pay for it.
Nov. 13, 2025
2 min read

Key Highlights

  • The Louvre heist — and its “LOUVRE” password reveal — shows that even world-class institutions can have embarrassingly simple security gaps.
  • As a marketing leader, you can’t outsource this to IT; you’re responsible for making sure your team uses strong passwords and a password manager across your tech stack and customer data tools.
  • Employee habits are riskier than most leaders assume — identify weak practices (like “12345”) before they turn into a brand-damaging breach.
ID 40769558 © Maurizio De Mattei | Dreamstime.com
69175d123c49ea8ed5541b3a Louvre

The brazen heist at Paris' most popular museum last month startled art lovers around the world and became a hot topic — not only for the massive theft of the French crown jewels, but also for the online sleuthing to determine the identity of the dapper "fedora man" who (spoiler alert) turned out to be a teenager.

If robbers could break into the Louvre in broad daylight and escape with more than $100 million in jewels, what does that mean for the rest of us?

We think it's a good time to conduct your own security check of your marketing department. While you probably don't need to secure a second-floor window in a gallery, you should review the passwords your team is using for all your tech and platform tools. If you're asking what this has to do with the Louvre, we're getting there. As reported in SecurityInfoWatch, France's National Cybersecurity Agency accessed the museum's video surveillance by cracking the comically obvious password: "LOUVRE."

To be fair, during Louvre president Laurence des Cars' testimony before the French Senate last month, we learned that the eponymous password wasn't to blame; rather, audits revealed "serious shortcomings" in the museum's security systems.

Before you throw up your hands and say "Not my problem" and punt password duties over to IT, remember that, as a leader, you're responsible for your team. A responsible leader ensures everyone uses strong passwords and a password manager. After all, your team likely works on a variety of platforms in your tech stack and manages an incredible amount of customer data. We don't need to tell you about all the bad things a data breach can do to your brand's reputation.

If you think your team is innocent until proven guilty of messy password management, consider a recent study of U.S. employees, which revealed that only 30% of employees use password managers, 42% have accessed sensitive company info on personal devices without IT approval, and 78% are not fully confident in spotting advanced phishing attacks.

Bottom line? Don't make assumptions — before the end of the year, schedule a password check with your team and make sure nobody is using "12345" to guard all your first-party data.

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About the Author

Abby White

Abby White

Vice President, Content Studio

Abby White is a content strategist, newsroom-trained writer, and brand storyteller. As Vice President of EndeavorB2B’s Content Studio, she leads client-driven custom content programs across 90+ brands and the content strategy for topic and role-based newsletters serving executive audiences. An award-winning journalist with a marketer’s mindset, Abby brings 25 years of experience leading editorial, communications, marketing, and audience-building efforts across industries.

Abby launched her first magazine, Abby’s Top 40, in 1988 and made everyone in her family read it. While attending the University of Illinois, she paid her rent as a professional notetaker, which might explain why she still gets asked to take notes in meetings. Since then, she has held editorial leadership roles at an alt weekly, a newspaper, a luxury lifestyle magazine, a business journal, a music magazine, and regional women’s magazines, developing a sharp writing edge and a conversational tone that resonates with professional audiences. 

She expanded into marketing while leading communications for an entertainment industry nonprofit and later drove rebranding and audience-building efforts for an NPR music station. At EndeavorB2B, she has been instrumental in driving editorial excellence, developing scalable content strategies across multiple verticals, and building the foundation for EDGE, the company’s portfolio of executive newsletters. 

And if you’re a writer interested in contributing to MarketingEDGE, she’s the person you need to (politely) bug.

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