Password Guidelines
CPS Password Syntax Rules:
·
CPS passwords must be at least 8 characters in length.
- · Complexity
requirement: Each CPS password must contain a character from 3 of the
following four character types. Blanks are disallowed.
- - Lower case
alphabetic - a…z
- - Upper case
alphabetic - A…Z
- - Numeric - 0…9
- - Special character -
(!@#$%^&*()_+|~-=\`{}[]:";'<>?,./)
What to Do:
· Use
a password that you can type quickly, without having to look at the
keyboard. This makes it harder for someone to steal your password by
watching over your shoulder.
- · Use a password
that is easy to remember, so you don't have to write it down. An
example would be to create a combination of letters that stand for a
phrase that enable users to remember passwords easily. For
example, “security should be commensurate with risk” would become
“ssbcwr,” with at least two of the following added: capital
letter(s), number(s) and special character(s). Song titles may
help users remember phrases as well. Phrases should be:
- - Known only to the
creator
- - Long enough to be
secure
- - Hard to guess,
even by someone who knows the user well
- - Easy to remember and
easy to type accurately.
What Not to Do:
·
Don't use your login name in any form (as-is, reversed, capitalized,
doubled, etc.).
- · Don't use your
first or last name in any form.
- · Don't use your
spouse's or child's name.
- · Don't use other
information easily obtained about you. This includes license plate
numbers, telephone numbers, social security numbers, the brand of your
automobile, the name of the street you live on, etc.
- · Don't use a
password of all digits, or the entire same letter. This significantly
decreases the search time for a hacker.
- · Don't use a word
contained in (English or foreign language) dictionaries, spelling
lists, or other lists of words.
- · Don't use a
password shorter than eight characters.
- · Don’t share
passwords with other users.
- · Don’t use the
same password as your network account or any other system
account.
- · Don’t reveal
your password to anyone, over the phone, e-mail, or in person.
Authorized users are responsible for the security of their passwords
and accounts.
- · Don’t write a
password down where it could be read.
- · Don’t cache
(autosave) your system password on your local system. Make sure
you unclick any option to save your system password when accessing
resources, such as web browsers.