University:
Campbell University
Course:
HSEC 444 | Cybersecurity
Academic year:

2022
Views:

385

Pages:

9
Author:

do3ran7ut

Something You Know password • A password is a secret combination of letters, numbers, and/or characters. Despite their widespread use, passwords provide weak protection and are constantly under attack. Password Weaknesses • The weakness of passwords centers on human memory. Human beings can memorize only a limited number of items. Passwords place heavy loads on human memory in multiple ways: • The most effective passwords are long and complex. However, these are difficult for users to memorize and then accurately recall when needed. • Users must remember multiple passwords for many accounts. Most users have accounts for different computers and mobile devices at work, school, and home; multiple email accounts; online banking; Internet site accounts; and so on. Password Weaknesses • For the highest level of security, each account password should be unique, which further strains human memory. • Many security policies mandate that passwords expire after a set period of time, such as every 45–60 days, when a new one must be created. Some security policies even prevent a previously used password from being recycled and used again, forcing users to repeatedly memorize new passwords. Password Weaknesses • users take shortcuts to help them memorize and recall their passwords. Weak passwords use a common word as a password (princess) • predictable sequence of characters (abc123), or personal information in a password. • reuse the same password (or a slight derivation of it) for multiple accounts: although this makes it easier for the user, it also makes it easier for an attacker who compromises one account to access all other accounts. Password Weaknesses • Even when users attempt to create stronger passwords, they generally follow predictable patterns: • Appending. When users combine letters, numbers, and punctuation (character sets), they do it in a pattern. Most often they only add a number after letters (caitlin1 or cheer99). If they add all three character sets, it is in the sequence letters:punctuation:number (braden.8 or chris#6). • Replacing. Users also use replacements in predictable patterns. Generally, a zero is used instead of the letter o (passw0rd), the digit 1 for the letter i (denn1s), or a dollar sign for an s (be$tfriend). Password Weaknesses • The widespread use of weak passwords can be illustrated easily. An analysis of more than 562 million stolen passwords revealed that the most common length of a password was only nine characters, while fewer than 1 percent of the passwords were more than 14 characters. In addition, the percentage of passwords that used characters other than lowercase letters was remarkably low: uppercase characters were found in only 6 percent of passwords while special symbols were in just 4 percent. The 10 most common passwords in the 562 million stolen passwords are very weak and are listed in Table Ten most common passwords