NIST Updated Standards for a Secure Password
Security Boulevard, Monday, November 11th, 2024
Your internet account passwords are probably among the most guarded pieces of information you retain in your brain. With everything that has recently migrated to the digital realm, a secure password functions as the deadbolt to your private data.
Hackers understand how valuable this personal data is, and so Account Takeover Attacks-where malicious actors gain unauthorized access to your accounts-remain the most common cyber-attack vector.
Internet users' passwords are frequently exposed in bulk via password combo lists, which are sets of credentials harvested from data breaches, and this has taught us the importance of using a unique password for every service we sign up for. This prevents a hacker from using your email address and one of your known (exposed) passwords-say, for website A-and checking to see if it successfully logs in to website B, C, D, etc., until they find that it works on website E.