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Security on our
Minds
 Security
is always on the minds of the NMGI team, and November is no
exception. We have been working with all of our customers
for a long time now to make their systems more secure, and
having secure user passwords is a part of that effort.
One of the most secure ways to
gain access into a system is to use two factor
authentication. That is a term used to describe access that
requires you to know something and to have something. The
best example is taking cash from an ATM which requires two
factor authentication. You have to KNOW your PIN number, and
you have to HAVE your ATM card. NMGI now offers a two factor
authentication system to its customers through our new
Managed Secure Access system. For many customers, however,
two factor authentication and the security it brings is too
much to bear. That leaves us with secure user passwords.
We have been practically forcing
secure passwords on users at customer sites for several
years now, but have received a lot of pushback as people
complain the passwords are too hard to remember. To that
end, we thought we’d offer some tips on how to make a secure
password for yourself. As a reminder, a secure password
consists of at least one of each of the following:
- Uppercase letters
- Lowercase letters
- Numbers
- Symbols
That might sound complex, but there
are a few simple tricks that can be used to take something
easy to remember, and make it secure:
-
Substitute symbols for letters. For
example, use @ instead of a, ! instead of i, or $ instead of
s.
- Substitute numbers for letters. For
example, use 0 instead of o or 3 instead of E.
- Use a phrase that is meaningful to you,
but that would be hard to guess. A great trick is to use a
short phrase that describes a quarterly goal you have.
- Capitalize the first letter of individual
words in a larger phrase.
Taking all of these tricks
together, here are some great examples of secure passwords:
- For someone with a dog named Rover:
MyD0g!sRover (My Dog is Rover)
- For someone that wants to lose 10 pounds:
L0se10Pound$ (Lose 10 Pounds)
- For someone looking forward to vacation:
V@cati0nInAugu$t (Vacation in August)
- For someone who is sick of secure
passwords: IsTh!sSecure? (Is this secure?)
These are all great examples of
extremely secure passwords that are virtually impossible to
guess, and yet easy for someone to remember. Using these
techniques, it is also much easier to come up with a nearly
endless list of easy to remember yet secure passwords.
Enjoy! |
