You likely use a password to access numerous systems, multiple times, each day. Unfortunately, passwords are also one of the weakest points of system security. Cyber criminals have tools which allow them to guess millions of passwords every second. Using this method, they can quickly identify any short password, including very complicated and impossible to remember passwords, such as “;!HU_^”. While there are controls in place to help minimize an attacker’s ability to perform this attack, strong passwords are still important and length is the most important factor in determining the strength of a password.
To make a strong, but easy to remember password, it’s recommended to use a passphrase instead. A passphrase is simply a series of random words or a sentence. This results in an easy to remember and type password, that is very strong and difficult for attackers to guess, utilizing the method described above. The following would be examples of passphrases:
- yARD needs mowed.
- summer VACation.
- It’s my BIRTHDAY.
These passphrases are much stronger, easier to remember and type than a password such as wU7’rhv;PsV&O.
