Easier password rules

Somebody give these guys a high-five.
Finally. There is a glimmer of hope for resolution to the insanity that has become password complexity rules. The National Institute of Standards and Technology recently revised guidelines for password complexity. The prescribed password complexity recommendations are detailed in Appendix A – Strength of Memorized Secrets. The NIST findings not only acknowledge the impact to usability of the existing recommendations for complex password rules, but they reveal the impact to improved security is not significant. This will make you smile and is sure to get a round of applause from everyone. Here’s an excerpt:

“Humans, however, have only a limited ability to memorize complex, arbitrary secrets, so they often choose passwords that can be easily guessed. To address the resultant security concerns, online services have introduced rules in an effort to increase the complexity of these memorized secrets. The most notable form of these is composition rules, which require the user to choose passwords constructed using a mix of character types, such as at least one digit, uppercase letter, and symbol. However, analyses of breached password databases reveal that the benefit of such rules is not nearly as significant as initially thought [Policies], although the impact on usability and memorability is severe.”

The new advice is to consider the length of the password more important than the complexity. Shorter passwords are easier to break for computer programs. Longer passwords are more difficult to break after they have been encrypted and stored. The NIST acknowledges the over complex password rules we’ve been subjected to only enforce bad behavior when we strive to make the password easier to remember. In other words changing your password from “Password1!” to “Password2!” doesn’t really help the password to be more secure.

Randomly generated passwords are OK as long as they don’t create a usability hassle. Some users, like me, use a password vault tool that can randomly generate passwords to use with specific sites. Again, longer password length is better even when using random characters.

I looked at my accounts.
I used this guidance and examined three financial services sites where I have accounts. Here is a look at the current password complexity requirements from each site:

Site 1
At least 8 characters in length
Has at least one letter
Has at least one number

Site 2
Must contain 8 to 20 characters including one letter and one number.
May include the following characters: % & _ ? # = –
May not contain spaces

Site 3
Minimum of six characters
Must use a mix of letters, numbers, or symbols

The good news is I can use my random password generator to create passwords longer than say 8 characters. It’s no more work for me because I go to my password vault tool to retrieve passwords anyways. But even if you don’t use a password vault tool, you can make your password much more secure by creating a phrase that complies with the existing rules. For example: ILove2seemygrandmother would fit the requirements. It is easier to remember and more secure. Hopefully, the new guidelines will find a place with technology compliance and regulation and we’ll be able to more freely submit password phrases in the future.

Onward and upward!