IT security tip: Passphrases are better than passwords

Though some organizations are trying to phase out passwords (you may have seen a prompt to create a “passkey” for your Amazon or Google account), passwords will most likely be here to stay for some time.

With that in mind, the days of complexity are in the past. Remember the simple concept: The more characters, the better.

A passphrase is a more secure, human-friendly password. It typically consists of three or more words separated by a space or a hyphen. The more characters, the better.

A password like “C0mplex!ty,” which is 10 characters, could be cracked in a couple of days or less by cybercriminals. A passphrase like “warrant bin center mixture physics,” which is 34 characters, might take over 400,000 years to crack with modern computers. The more characters, the better!

You can read more about strong passwords, and especially passphrases, on the Center for Internet Security (CISA) website.

 

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