Passwords: The Basics and Beyond

This chapter discusses that the most important aspect of information security is the selection of strong passwords. Likewise, the single greatest security failure is the use of weak passwords. Network administrators blame users for selecting such poor passwords, and users blame network administrators for the inconvenience of their draconian password policies. People select poor passwords and do little to protect them. They share their passwords with others and use the same passwords repeatedly on multiple systems. At the same time, computing power has increased along with the number and quality of tools available to hackers. The chapter describes techniques how one can build strong passwords and explains how to protect password from attack. All one needs to do is follow some simple rules, use some basic common sense, and treat passwords like real secrets. By implementing these practices, one can extend the life of this simple method of authentication.