Campus Computing News

October is Security Awareness Month

By Gabe Marshall, Information Security Analyst

Fall is finally here. While most people are out enjoying the cool weather, the fall festivals, and looking forward to Halloween, there is an ongoing effort in the IT world to increase the popularity of what is now known as “Security Awareness Month.”

The following article is part one of a three part series the UNT Information Security Team will be providing to the campus this month as a part of our own security awareness program. Please check our site throughout this month for the remaining articles that will be covering various important topics. To find out more information security and the training opportunities we have available at UNT, visit our website at www.unt.edu/security.

Password Security

Passwords are a common frustration shared by many people in the world today. These days usernames and passwords are required to accomplish most of our daily tasks; whether it be paying bills, going shopping, or getting through a day at the office. A common misconception with passwords is that there is little reason to spend time worrying about protecting the passwords for each online account we use. The truth however, is that passwords are frequently stolen then sold and traded across the internet.  What can be done to protect our passwords? There are a couple easy steps that you can take to ensure your safety.

First and foremost, remember to always create strong passwords. A strong password should be at minimum eight characters long, and should include a combination of upper and lower case letters, numbers, and at least one special character or symbol. Keep in mind that an obscure password will make it exponentially harder for a hacker to obtain access to your information.

Secondly,

Always remember to keep different passwords for the different systems that you use. The reasoning behind this is that if one of your accounts is compromised, the hacker will attempt the same password on various other websites and systems that they’ve seen you access in the past. Do you have trouble remembering multiple passwords like most of us? The best advice we can give is to install what is known as a password manager. A password manager is a program that runs on your local machine, and encrypts the login information for the various websites you access. Think of the password saving feature built into most internet browsers, but much more secure. Popular password managers that can be obtained for free online are products such as KeePass and 1Password.

Lastly,

Change your passwords often. It is a fact that no one looks forward to changing their password, but the reason passwords are stolen so frequently is a combination between users creating weak passwords, and the fact that most users never change their passwords unless they are forced to. Remember, time is always on the side of hackers. The longer you go without changing your password, the more time hackers have to slowly but surely crack it. Although most systems at UNT require a password reset every 120 days, you still need to remember to change the passwords on other non-UNT system accounts, as well as any local servers you may have running on your machine.

To summarize, try and remember to protect your passwords just as you would the keys to your car or your house. Don’t share them with anyone, don’t leave them laying out on your desk when you’re not around, and if you think they’ve been compromised make sure you change them as quickly as possible.

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