A study by a Texas based information security company has determined that all the chatter about creating complex passwords may actually make them easier to crack.
The study involved analysis of 34 million stolen passwords from three separate data breaches: LinkedIn, eHarmony, and Rockyou. Out of that 34 million, they found that 50 percent of them followed the same structure.
The advice for making complex passwords is not bad. It is still best to use a combination of characters including upper and lower case letters, numbers, and special characters. However, the issue the researchers had was that when applications and websites require users to create a password using those rules, they don't specify the placement of the various characters. And perhaps they should not. Creating complex passwords is frustrating enough for some people. However, it doesn't mean it's advised to ignore a well-structured one.
The study found that the structure most people used when following the strong password guidelines is that they used exactly one upper case letter and it was at the beginning of the password. As a result, passwords are easier to crack.
The guidelines are still the same, however and there is no reason to panic. Just keep in mind when you are creating and changing passwords that it's worth shifting the placement of those special characters and consider using more than one of each to make it even more complex. And remember to always use at least eight characters and consider using pass phrases. It may make it easier to remember that way too.
For banks and credit unions
Share this article with your members
Copy a ready-made summary and link for your newsletter, website or social posts.
