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posted by martyb on Friday December 13 2019, @03:11PM   Printer-friendly
from the https://xkcd.com/936/ dept.

49% of workers, when forced to update their password, reuse the same one with just a minor change:

A survey of 200 people conducted by security outfit HYPR has some alarming findings.

For instance, not only did 72% of users admit that they reused the same passwords in their personal life, but also 49% admitted that when forced to update their passwords in the workplace they reused the same one with a minor change.

Furthermore, many users were clearly relying upon their puny human memory to remember passwords (42% in the office, 35% in their personal lives) rather than something more reliable. This, no doubt, feeds users' tendency to choose weak, easy-to-crack passwords as well as reusing old passwords or making minor changes to existing ones.

What is so bad about changing "Password1" to "Password2"?


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  • (Score: 2, Disagree) by RS3 on Friday December 13 2019, @03:21PM (38 children)

    by RS3 (6367) on Friday December 13 2019, @03:21PM (#931711)

    What is so bad about changing "Password1" to "Password2"?

    Nothing at all if you want your account accessed by others.

    Furthermore, many users were clearly relying upon their puny human memory to remember passwords (42% in the office, 35% in their personal lives) rather than something more reliable.

    What, pray tell, is that something? LogMeIn? Browser-based auto logins? Post-It notes?

    A good friend of mine prints his passwords- the ones he doesn't care about like work-related- on bar-code and uses a bar-code scanner. It's pretty well hidden and few know he does it, and he's pretty cynical about his job so if someone figures it out he'll just enjoy the show.

    • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 13 2019, @03:33PM (24 children)

      by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @03:33PM (#931717) Journal

      They need to just do away with passwords. And fingerprints, and retina scans, and all the rest. The computer should demand a semen sample, to compare DNA.

      "No, seriously, I'm not the wanker you take me for, I'm just trying to get into my computer!"
      "Dude, I've heard it called a lot of things, but I've never heard a vagina referred to as a computer."

      Anyway, iterative passwords. The shared computer at work was set up with "Welcom01", and we're now six days away from changing the password to "Welcome22". A little social engineering reveals that all the other computers have the same password, plus or minus a couple iterations. If I'm around when it reaches 99, and due to change, I think I'll start over at "Welcome00" just to screw with people's minds.

      • (Score: 5, Funny) by PiMuNu on Friday December 13 2019, @03:39PM (13 children)

        by PiMuNu (3823) on Friday December 13 2019, @03:39PM (#931721)

        Works until you get a bone marrow transplant.

        • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday December 13 2019, @03:43PM

          by RS3 (6367) on Friday December 13 2019, @03:43PM (#931725)

          Or miniature CRISPR gene hacking tool for 007's next movie.

        • (Score: 3, Insightful) by Runaway1956 on Friday December 13 2019, @03:56PM (11 children)

          by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @03:56PM (#931731) Journal

          I was expecting the obvious reply. "Where's a woman supposed to get a semen sample?" I suppose that women will have to buy samples, and keep them in a local sperm bank. Or, keep a guy around to get her in, or off, as the case may be.

          • (Score: 2) by Freeman on Friday December 13 2019, @04:13PM

            by Freeman (732) on Friday December 13 2019, @04:13PM (#931737) Journal

            Yeah, I was heading this direction first, before the other two went off on their less than 2% errors. Still, it's a very off the wall suggestion. The reason why we have passwords is, because there's no better solution.

            --
            Joshua 1:9 "Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee"
          • (Score: 3, Funny) by barbara hudson on Friday December 13 2019, @04:54PM (7 children)

            by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday December 13 2019, @04:54PM (#931751) Journal
            Buy a semen sample?

            Little boy to little girl: my dad says I have a penis and you don't.

            Little girl: My mom says I have a vagina and I can get all the penis I want.

            That's why there's no such thing as a female incel.

            --
            SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
            • (Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Saturday December 14 2019, @03:52AM (6 children)

              by Coward, Anonymous (7017) on Saturday December 14 2019, @03:52AM (#931938) Journal

              That's why there's no such thing as a female incel.

              This may be the exception that proves the rule, but I distinctly remember being approached by a desperate woman who wanted me to touch her boobies.

              • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Saturday December 14 2019, @04:07AM (5 children)

                by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Saturday December 14 2019, @04:07AM (#931943) Journal
                So no request for sex.
                --
                SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
                • (Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Saturday December 14 2019, @04:14AM (4 children)

                  by Coward, Anonymous (7017) on Saturday December 14 2019, @04:14AM (#931945) Journal

                  Funny. I guess you don't know what it means to be propositioned.

                  • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Saturday December 14 2019, @09:06PM (3 children)

                    by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Saturday December 14 2019, @09:06PM (#932160) Journal
                    Wasn't there, no context given, not up to me to make assumptions. And that doesn't make her a female incel. Just (if what you're saying is true) just horny. Perfectly normal.
                    --
                    SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
                    • (Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Sunday December 15 2019, @03:36AM (2 children)

                      by Coward, Anonymous (7017) on Sunday December 15 2019, @03:36AM (#932263) Journal

                      Oh well, guys who you call incels could probably find a crack whore to have sex with, at least in the US. They just don't want to. So the "involuntary" part of incel is not really true.

                      • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Sunday December 15 2019, @03:44AM (1 child)

                        by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Sunday December 15 2019, @03:44AM (#932268) Journal

                        Many of these are afraid of approaching any woman - which is why when they finally do so, it's often with a gun or rifle or using a vehicle as a weapon to express their rage.

                        --
                        SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
                        • (Score: 2) by Coward, Anonymous on Sunday December 15 2019, @05:32AM

                          by Coward, Anonymous (7017) on Sunday December 15 2019, @05:32AM (#932308) Journal

                          Probably they are intimidated by women they find attractive, I'll give you that. But probably not by women they find unattractive. They are choosing not to pursue the ones they might have better chances with, so their celibacy is in fact voluntary.

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 14 2019, @10:27AM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 14 2019, @10:27AM (#931999)

            It would not be very safe to keep him chained to the table.. so where would one keep the semen container?

      • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Friday December 13 2019, @03:47PM (3 children)

        by RS3 (6367) on Friday December 13 2019, @03:47PM (#931727)

        Yeah, sometimes I think this stuff is overdone. If someone has physical access to a computer, they can rip out a hard disk pretty quickly. And you could argue in favor of disk encryption, but if the motherboard dies (which is rare) you lose everything. But hopefully it's all backed up, right?

        I tend to keep passwords simple for low-privilege accounts, and fairly longish for admin/root stuff.

        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:03PM

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:03PM (#931734)

          If you're counting on being able to get data off the disk when the computer fails, you've screwed up on so many levels.

          You're supposed to have regular backups and if what you're doing is so hard to replicate that losing a few hours of work is a problem, then you should be running those backups more frequently. I'm sure there are a few areas where you can generate data too quickly for that, but in those cases, you have other considerations and you'll likely want to use something more advanced for data storage than a single computer.

        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday December 13 2019, @04:49PM (1 child)

          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday December 13 2019, @04:49PM (#931750) Journal

          If someone has physical access to a computer, they can rip out a hard disk pretty quickly

          I wish. Hard disk physically soldered in place, dirty rotten built-in obsolescence bastards.

          Want more storage? Buy a new machine because it's not worth unsoldering the old one and still having older hardware.

          --
          SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
          • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:01AM

            by RS3 (6367) on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:01AM (#931873)

            Or plug in a USB stick or external drive.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:28PM (4 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:28PM (#931738)

        Best version of that I have seen is “Colors of the rainbow” for root. This worked well until fart keyed in “plaid”.

        I do not like password stores. Dash lane and the like. 1 password to get them all. I prefer a catchy system like the names of the cats and sequence number. Rotate names and numbers and keep them synced. Also do to sign up to multiple forum or other systems. If they need a password to use. They are just another Facebook or google want a be. Flush them fast

        • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday December 13 2019, @04:44PM (3 children)

          by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday December 13 2019, @04:44PM (#931743) Journal
          Simple solution - only forum I use now is here. So only one password for one forum. At least here when my eyes go again I can still use links / lynx again. Pick a forum and stick with it. Then you only need one password for "all" your forums/antisocial media accounts.
          --
          SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
          • (Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday December 13 2019, @05:27PM (2 children)

            by Osamabobama (5842) on Friday December 13 2019, @05:27PM (#931763)

            So what password do you use, then?

            --
            Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
            • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday December 13 2019, @05:37PM

              by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday December 13 2019, @05:37PM (#931767) Journal
              Whatever one I want, same as everyone else who doesn't have a password nazi telling them what to do because they read a bs article about "industry best practices " backed by zero empirical evidence . :-)
              --
              SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
            • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @06:41PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @06:41PM (#931796)

              dd if=/dev/urandom bs=1 count=12|base64

      • (Score: 4, Funny) by EvilSS on Friday December 13 2019, @04:44PM

        by EvilSS (1456) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @04:44PM (#931744)

        The computer should demand a semen sample, to compare DNA.

        SoylentNews story from 2025: "Honey pot attacks up 200,000%, victims not all that unhappy"

    • (Score: 5, Informative) by barbara hudson on Friday December 13 2019, @04:35PM

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday December 13 2019, @04:35PM (#931741) Journal
      Current bullshit password "best practices" reduce security.

      When you know the user needs to use at least 1 digit, and 1 special character, you've eliminated the need to check all alpha-only passwords.

      Second, because so many people need password resets, it's easier to convince the keepers of the keys to reset a password via social engineering - hence the epidemic of identity theft.

      Biometrics? Fingerprint readers don't actually compare fingerprints- they generate a number based on a small number of features of a fingerprint. Doesn't work if you don't have well defined features, like mine. We tried registering my fingerprint on a time clock for weeks. Never worked. I deleted my bank app when they needed fingerprint I'd because I don't want to get locked out by 10 failures of verification.

      And we all know facial ID also can be easily compromised.

      Only physical security can be trusted- anything else is smoke and mirrors.

      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
    • (Score: 2) by barbara hudson on Friday December 13 2019, @04:56PM (2 children)

      by barbara hudson (6443) <barbara.Jane.hudson@icloud.com> on Friday December 13 2019, @04:56PM (#931753) Journal
      1. Make new barcodes with random login details

      2. Watch the fun.

      3. There is no 3

      --
      SoylentNews is social media. Says so right in the slogan. Soylentnews is people, not tech.
      • (Score: 2, Insightful) by DECbot on Friday December 13 2019, @11:15PM

        by DECbot (832) on Friday December 13 2019, @11:15PM (#931864) Journal

        Why go through all that trouble? Use a sharpie to embolden some of the lines.

        --
        cats~$ sudo chown -R us /home/base
      • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:03AM

        by RS3 (6367) on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:03AM (#931874)

        You're delightfully evil. I might just do that if I ever visit his place of employ again...

    • (Score: 3, Interesting) by Zinho on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03PM (4 children)

      by Zinho (759) on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03PM (#931758)

      What is so bad about changing "Password1" to "Password2"?

      Nothing at all if you want your account accessed by others.

      Defend this please. What is the vulnerability that we're defending against by requiring dissimilar passwords?
      * attacker is able to guess your next password easily if they've already got your current/past one?
      * hash function isn't giving distinct responses to passwords that are only one character different?

      One of these seems like closing the barn door after the horse has escaped, and the other seems like a systemic error, not a user error.

      What are we trying to say the users are making themselves vulnerable to?

      --
      "Space Exploration is not endless circles in low earth orbit." -Buzz Aldrin
      • (Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday December 13 2019, @05:38PM (2 children)

        by Osamabobama (5842) on Friday December 13 2019, @05:38PM (#931768)

        The most plausible scenario where this would help is a password breach, where unencrypted passwords are revealed. This could be from a different site, where the same password is reused, or a single site, where the password table is cracked or otherwise revealed. Then the data gets into the hackers' hands...

        Now, hypothetically, they are targeting you specifically (not just going through the whole list--for whatever reason). They don't get in on your old password, but they see an identifiable pattern, and iterate through the logical next steps. Alternatively, an automated tool cycles through passwords based on the pattern.

        This attack vector needs unencrypted passwords, which should be hard to get because of hashing and salting and so on, but not every site is using best practices. Also, there are other threat models that get ignored when people concentrate on this one.

        Disclaimer: I'm stretching the limits of my understanding of this subject by explaining this, so don't use me as a reference if it's important.

        --
        Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
        • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @06:11PM (1 child)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @06:11PM (#931781)

          They don't get in on your old password, but they see an identifiable pattern

          To see an identifiable pattern they'd need more than one old password.

          • (Score: 2) by stretch611 on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:54AM

            by stretch611 (6199) on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:54AM (#931889)

            Not necessarily...

            It is possible at times to guess a pattern after seeing/knowing only one password.

            I used to work somewhere that required monthly password resetting.

            I used to take a single word and follow it with a 1 or 2 digit password. If someone sees password12, it does not take a rocket scientist to make an assumption that they will change it to password13 at the next reset, or another reasonable guess would be password01 if it is currently December. Back then we used to share passwords with our coworkers for various tasks... It was not unusual for people to use the same password followed by the numerical month.

            After they banned passwords that only changed 1 or 2 digits/characters, I even topok the lazy step of changing my password from "March2007" to "April2007" to "May2007". I would truncate the longer months if necessary as well. Another case of easy to guess the identifiable pattern even if you only have one password.

            Honestly, even then I knew how bad it was to use passwords like that... but I honestly didn't give a damn about the company I worked for then either. After I left, I didn't do the month/year passwords, but I still implemented the add 1 to the number or use the month as a number suffix to passwords.

            I no longer am forced to change my password every month... and I have not had to do that in roughly 8 years. Since then, I use a offline password manager ( KeepassX [keepassx.org] ) I let it generate random passwords for me and I never change them. I never let the browser remember passwords or use a browser extension to fill them in for me simply because browsers are one of the biggest security risks on your computer.

            --
            Now with 5 covid vaccine shots/boosters altering my DNA :P
      • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:19PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:19PM (#931802)

        The requirement for changing passwords is ALREADY about closing the barn door after the cows are out.

        The ONLY attack case this fixes is the attacker that already has a credential. If the APT (advanced persistent threat) isn't in your attack profile, there is no reason for this requirement.

    • (Score: 2) by Rupert Pupnick on Friday December 13 2019, @05:35PM (3 children)

      by Rupert Pupnick (7277) on Friday December 13 2019, @05:35PM (#931765) Journal

      But if the password is already "strong" to begin with, what's wrong with a small incremental change as an update?

      • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Friday December 13 2019, @08:31PM

        by maxwell demon (1608) on Friday December 13 2019, @08:31PM (#931819) Journal

        Exactly. I've long used a strong password, and a small variant part at the end. Until they started to test similarity with the previous password. Since it came unexpected, and I hadn't much time to think about and memorize it, my next password was considerably weaker.

        And no, a password manager is no option for the login password.

        --
        The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
      • (Score: 2) by toddestan on Friday December 13 2019, @11:44PM

        by toddestan (4982) on Friday December 13 2019, @11:44PM (#931867)

        If the password is strong and secure, then there really is no reason to have to change it.

        If the password has been compromised somehow - the malicious actor trying to get in might be able to guess/figure out your small change and still gain access. The whole point of these password change policies is to defend against scenarios where the password has been compromised somehow but that fact is not yet known. A small, easy to guess change completely defeats the purpose of that policy.

      • (Score: 2) by RS3 on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:08AM

        by RS3 (6367) on Saturday December 14 2019, @12:08AM (#931875)

        This answer applies to the many comments I got, but don't want to pepper all the answers:

        I was referring to the literal password "Password1". I'm pretty sure the hackorz try those exact things first.

        Otherwise, I certainly agree- a 1 character change to an already "strong" password is a great option, resulting in an equally strong password.

  • (Score: 5, Insightful) by tangomargarine on Friday December 13 2019, @04:08PM (4 children)

    by tangomargarine (667) on Friday December 13 2019, @04:08PM (#931735)

    they could stop forcing you to change your password every month, to one you've never used before.

    Make your password sufficiently good and then just leave it.

    --
    "Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
    • (Score: 5, Insightful) by ikanreed on Friday December 13 2019, @04:55PM (2 children)

      by ikanreed (3164) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @04:55PM (#931752) Journal

      I used to be a "commit all passwords to memory and make them long" person, until I spent 3 years dealing with "change your password every 2 months", then my security went off a cliff. There's nothing that makes you stop caring about doing things right like mindless repetition.

      • (Score: 2) by NateMich on Friday December 13 2019, @06:03PM

        by NateMich (6662) on Friday December 13 2019, @06:03PM (#931776)

        I used to be a "commit all passwords to memory and make them long" person, until I spent 3 years dealing with "change your password every 2 months", then my security went off a cliff. There's nothing that makes you stop caring about doing things right like mindless repetition.

        I agree. My new method involves using passwords that I think are funny, and usually quite derogatory.
        If we're going to play security theater, then I might as well have some fun with it.

      • (Score: 1) by Jay on Friday December 13 2019, @08:45PM

        by Jay (8679) on Friday December 13 2019, @08:45PM (#931826)

        There's nothing that makes you stop caring about doing things right like mindless repetition.

        My work still uses an antiquated phone system where we need to dial in to get our voicemail. A few years ago they decided 6 digit passwords weren't strong enough, and went to 12. So every time you dial in to check your voicemail, you need to punch in a 12 digit code flawlessly. If you fail you get kicked back to the main menu where you have to additionally dial in your 10 digit phone number and then your 12 digit password without fat-fingering anything, or you get to do that over again after the nice lady explains that you did it wrong. Or you have to hang up and re-dial your voicemail so you at least don't have to type in the phone number.

        Those of us with anything remotely resembling technical savvy simply programmed the 12 digits into an unlabeled button on our phone, and just push 1 button to authenticate.

        Seriously. If you make it hard or exceedingly irritating for me to do my job, I'm going to interpret it as damage and route around it.

    • (Score: 2) by Joe Desertrat on Sunday December 15 2019, @12:09AM

      by Joe Desertrat (2454) on Sunday December 15 2019, @12:09AM (#932207)

      they could stop forcing you to change your password every month, to one you've never used before.
      Make your password sufficiently good and then just leave it.

      This is the ideal that unfortunately is not followed by too much of the user world. A tech oriented person (usually) realizes this and can be trusted to come up with a secure password and memorize or at least hide it well.
      When you deal with the likes of sales managers, you end up with problems either way. Their self chosen passwords are so easy they need to be forced to change them frequently, or if they are forced to use difficult passwords, they end up writing them on a sticky note which they place on their computer. I don't think they realize that passwords are for security purposes, they just think they are something you have to do when you use a computer.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:12PM (12 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:12PM (#931736)

    Can you still just see it as *******?

    • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:44PM (11 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @04:44PM (#931745)

      I use the VIN# of one of my cars. Nobody would guess that the insurance card in my wallet is also one of my passwords.

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03PM (#931757)

        Now I will...

      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @05:30PM (2 children)

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @05:30PM (#931764)

        vehicle identification number number

      • (Score: 2) by epitaxial on Friday December 13 2019, @06:30PM (1 child)

        by epitaxial (3165) on Friday December 13 2019, @06:30PM (#931789)

        Knowing the model of car you drive could narrow this down quite a bit. Things like body styles and paint codes are all well known. By then it's down to maybe five numeric digits.

        • (Score: 2) by toddestan on Friday December 13 2019, @11:50PM

          by toddestan (4982) on Friday December 13 2019, @11:50PM (#931870)

          Well, that and the VIN is prominently displayed on the dashboard of the car, as well as many other less-obvious places. So anyone who has physical access to your car will be able to just read the VIN.

          It's really kind of security through obscurity - it's only secure because no one knows you're doing that. You could also just as easily use one of your credit card numbers (a bit more secure than the VIN of your car), or perhaps the serial number of a special dollar bill that you keep in your wallet (don't spend it by accident!).

          Though if you have to change your password every 6 months, does that mean you have to buy a new car?

      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday December 13 2019, @06:30PM (3 children)

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @06:30PM (#931790) Journal

        ROT13( VIN# )

        --
        To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
        • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:29PM (2 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:29PM (#931806)

          ROT13( VIN# )

          For extra security:
          ROT13(ROT13( VIN# ))

          • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @08:44PM (1 child)

            by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @08:44PM (#931825)

            Fuck it... I'm changing my password to the specific gravity of a neon photon in a vacuum at -458°K while at 3g acceleration divided by π to the 27th decimal.

            • (Score: 2, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @09:56PM

              by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @09:56PM (#931845)

              Make sure to put this in scientific notation so there will be an "e^" in the password -- much more secure when it's a combination of numbers, letters and symbols...

      • (Score: 3, Funny) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @08:26PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @08:26PM (#931817)

        HAHA, I got in! Now I have control of the Anonymous Coward account.

  • (Score: 3, Funny) by DannyB on Friday December 13 2019, @04:47PM (5 children)

    by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @04:47PM (#931748) Journal

    As I have pointed out before [soylentnews.org], organizations should encourage their employees to use the one and only secure password. [mostsecure.pw]

    As I said previously:

    I won't post [the password] here, for security reasons, so you'll have to visit the link. [mostsecure.pw]

    I tested that site on SSLLabs [ssllabs.com], and it scores a grade of A. So that is definitely the password I'm going to use from now on!

    All corporate managers should issue a directive to their employees to begin using this password at once!

    In addition to the security, another advantage is that you will no longer need password manglers.

    --
    To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @05:03PM (#931759)

      That password works well when you want a pay raise and a few extra weeks of paid vacation, and I'm now the CEO of Apple, M$, Tesla, and own an island in the Caribbean.

    • (Score: 2) by Osamabobama on Friday December 13 2019, @05:41PM (2 children)

      by Osamabobama (5842) on Friday December 13 2019, @05:41PM (#931769)

      Can’t connect securely to this page

      This might be because the site uses outdated or unsafe TLS security settings. If this keeps happening, try contacting the website’s owner.

      Your TLS security settings aren’t set to the defaults, which could also be causing this error.

      My employer doesn't want me to know...

      --
      Appended to the end of comments you post. Max: 120 chars.
      • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday December 13 2019, @06:21PM

        by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @06:21PM (#931785) Journal

        I would point out:

        Your TLS security settings aren’t set to the defaults, which could also be causing this error.

        On SSLLabs, which I just tried again, [ssllabs.com] and it gets a Grade A on both its IPv4 and IPv6 addresses, I notice the following. SSLLabs only tested it on TLS 1.2 because SSLLabs says: "For TLS 1.3 tests, we only support RFC 8446."

        --
        To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
      • (Score: 1) by nitehawk214 on Friday December 13 2019, @06:32PM

        by nitehawk214 (1304) on Friday December 13 2019, @06:32PM (#931791)

        It is hunter2 [bash.org]

        --
        "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
    • (Score: 2) by captain normal on Friday December 13 2019, @07:49PM

      by captain normal (2205) on Friday December 13 2019, @07:49PM (#931810)

      Right...Just try remembering that 20 minutes from now. Unless you write it down (maybe like the NASA guy in a TV interview a few years ago, in the background was a computer on which there was a clearly visible post it note with a line of characters under the label "password'). The problem is that there are way too many places where a password is required. Way too many for our simple monkey brains to remember them all.
      Whoever comes up with a real solution could be rich enough to buy a small country.

      --
      When life isn't going right, go left.
  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by legont on Friday December 13 2019, @05:36PM (2 children)

    by legont (4179) on Friday December 13 2019, @05:36PM (#931766)

    My office explicitly prohibits using tools for storing passwords (and in fact my direct report was fired for doing so). We are supposed to be smart enough to remember. Therefore I do recycle so knowing one of my office passwords will reveal the rest in about a nanosecond. But guess what - their security password check is not that smart and so presumably all the hackers.

    One got to realize that password policy has nothing whatsoever to do with security. It has, on the other hand, everything to do with security *regulations*. Bosses are only interested in a reasonable way to avoid fines.

    --
    "Wealth is the relentless enemy of understanding" - John Kenneth Galbraith.
    • (Score: 2) by DannyB on Friday December 13 2019, @06:23PM (1 child)

      by DannyB (5839) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @06:23PM (#931786) Journal

      It has, on the other hand, everything to do with security *regulations*.

      In other words: the appearance of security. Whether it's actually a good idea or not. It looks good.

      Or said differently: "we don't care if we get hacked, as long as we CYA."

      --
      To transfer files: right-click on file, pick Copy. Unplug mouse, plug mouse into other computer. Right-click, paste.
      • (Score: 2) by pipedwho on Saturday December 14 2019, @07:01AM

        by pipedwho (2032) on Saturday December 14 2019, @07:01AM (#931971)

        The CYA mentality only works when you are actually using good practices. When the NIST recommends against your policy, it is in your interest to do something about it. When the lawsuits come in, the CYA becomes 'we are using some inane insecure contraindicated security policy' - and that tends to look pretty bad as a defence to a law suit. I get called in for cybersecurity advice regularly, and some companies choose to ignore recommendations. But, they still sign off on the fault and security analysis, which includes agreeing to take the enumerated and highlighted risks/repercussions.

  • (Score: 4, Insightful) by Dale on Friday December 13 2019, @05:54PM (5 children)

    by Dale (539) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @05:54PM (#931773)

    I have a hard time believing that just under half (49%) are doing this. I would have expected the number to be much, much higher (85-95%).

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @06:12PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @06:12PM (#931782)

      Agreed. To me this is news, mainly because I expected the number to be FAR higher.

      My intuition said something like 85%+

    • (Score: 3, Insightful) by nitehawk214 on Friday December 13 2019, @06:30PM (1 child)

      by nitehawk214 (1304) on Friday December 13 2019, @06:30PM (#931788)

      Probably 49% admit to it. Another 49% do it and lie about it.

      --
      "Don't you ever miss the days when you used to be nostalgic?" -Loiosh
      • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:30PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:30PM (#931807)

        So the same as masturbation statistics then?

    • (Score: 2) by canopic jug on Friday December 13 2019, @07:48PM

      by canopic jug (3949) Subscriber Badge on Friday December 13 2019, @07:48PM (#931809) Journal

      I have a hard time believing that just under half (49%) are doing this

      The survey apparently only has a sample size of 200. Much more data is needed before any general conclusions can be drawn.

      --
      Money is not free speech. Elections should not be auctions.
    • (Score: 2) by pipedwho on Saturday December 14 2019, @07:08AM

      by pipedwho (2032) on Saturday December 14 2019, @07:08AM (#931972)

      2 years ago I ran an analysis for a company on the password choices people used when forced to change passwords every 6 months. It was around 90% of people that used simple changes - 85% of people that were there for a less than a couple of years, and about 95% for people that had been there for longer. This was only possible because of the ridiculously insecure systems in place that the company used to store user passwords.

      I have no idea how the survey in the article was done, but it's pretty clear that people have no idea how insecure their 'changes' really are. Some people think that changing the number at the beginning and the end is more secure than just changing a number at the end. So when asking people, you'll end up with a lot of people thinking they are doing something secure, when in reality it is easily guessable - at far far far far far less of an entropy change than choosing a new high quality randomly generated password.

  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:59PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday December 13 2019, @07:59PM (#931811)

    Suppose I write the password on a piece of paper. I can do that. The paper then instantly becomes TOP SECRET//SCI//SAP and must be secured. The paper must get classification markings, must be described in a database to track the location, and must be secured in a safe. That safe has a digital combo lock with a password, and it is in a room with another digital combo lock with a different password. Opening the room or the safe requires writing an entry in a security log. Auditors will randomly ask to see things in that database, verifying that nothing has gone missing.

    So that just made things worse.

    Password managers would get the same treatment, but the company bans them. They are too difficult to shred into fine powder.

    • (Score: 2) by maxwell demon on Friday December 13 2019, @08:42PM

      by maxwell demon (1608) on Friday December 13 2019, @08:42PM (#931824) Journal

      Password managers would get the same treatment, but the company bans them. They are too difficult to shred into fine powder.

      With that policy, I would advise you not to store the password in your head. I think having your head shred into fine powder wouldn't be a too pleasant experience. :-)

      --
      The Tao of math: The numbers you can count are not the real numbers.
  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 14 2019, @05:05AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday December 14 2019, @05:05AM (#931954)

    Ubuntu has a package 'apg' that solves my password-changing issues. It can generate nice long random, memorable, pronounceable passwords:

    $ apg -a0 -m16 -x16 -t -M CLNS
    Abr4Drupearjerd/ (Abr-FOUR-Dru-pearj-erd-SLASH)
    ajyed9osHamOlEv_ (aj-yed-NINE-os-Ham-Ol-Ev-UNDERSCORE)
    Ji4FleckLeugjic[ (Ji-FOUR-Fleck-Leug-jic-LEFT_BRACKET)
    Notcepvovreg6Ob# (Not-cep-vov-reg-SIX-Ob-CROSSHATCH)
    der[druhiagJewl5 (der-LEFT_BRACKET-dru-hiag-Jewl-FIVE)
    ep3OjvutMyobkaj] (ep-THREE-Oj-vut-Myob-kaj-RIGHT_BRACKET)
    $

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