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Cybersecurity Month: strong passwords

21 October 2021

Did you know that there’s a reason why the university periodically asks you to change your password? Passwords happen to be valuable data that hackers can use to get personal information. Keep reading to learn about strong passwords and how to make it impossible for hackers to discover yours. 

True or false: pietcooksspinach is a stronger password than Zp(37# 

Answer: True. Passwords with many different characters may seem stronger, but the length of your password is just as important. A hacker could crack the second password in seconds, but it would take them 800,000 years to crack the first one. That’s why the university requires passwords to be at least 12 characters long. 

Of course, a password is even stronger if it’s long and contains different types of characters. The password Pietk00ktspinazie! would take a hacker 93 trillion years to crack! Want to know how to create a strong password? Then check out the staff website 'Strong passwords' and follow the e-learning module (10 minutes).  

Win a prize with your knowledge 

At the end of Cybersecurity Month, you can win a prize for you and your team. Keep an eye on the cybersecurity messages and follow an e-learning module. The knowledge you gain will come in handy later. 

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