Can you count the number of passwords you have on one hand? Or, like me, do you run out of appendages long before you reach the end of the count? And how many of us are guilty of using the same password, again and again, for everything?
In today’s digital world there is a password required for every corner of our lives – from work, to banking, and even to shopping. Because these password requirements are so commonplace, it is very easy to become lackadaisical about their security. It’s not until our identities have been stolen or our credit cards misused that we realize the danger of password security ambivalence.
Don’t let this happen to you! Please make sure your passwords are difficult to guess and be sure to keep them secure. This includes all your school passwords. There is a reason why our Department of Information Technology Services is “upping” our Novell password requirements – we have A LOT of stuff out on our network that folks with malicious intent might want to mess with, including student records and grades. We may understandably groan when trying to come up with a password that includes:
- at least one special character
- UPPER and lowercase letters
- at least one number, and
- is at least 8 characters long
but it’s for a really good reason that we are doing this.
