Activity 2.1.3 Password Strength -- Strong!

The person in this role is responsible for managing computers, networks, servers, an other computing resources. They are also the person that implements security policies for an organization. What is this IT role?

What is the first line of defense in protecting personally identifiable information (PII)? It is often much weaker than necessary.

Password files can be stolen from an organization and attacked on a device by trying thousands of combinations. This method of attack is the reason that we should not rely on the security of an organizations network. What is the attack method?

• Offline brute force

• Brute force

• Frequency Analysis

• Rainbow Tables

When developing a password or passphrase what should be included to make it as strong as possible?

• Uppercase letters

• Symbols

• Spaces (if accepted)

• Numbers

A random string of characters using uppercase, lowercase, symbols and numbers is a much stronger password than a meaningful passphrase.

• True

• False

Answer explanation

You may have heard that random letters, numbers, and symbols such as Gp3fC0#2nP make a good password. It is certainly better than qwerty or password, but a passphrase is still much better. A handful of normal words, randomly associated but meaningful to you make for a good passphrase; perhaps looking around your classroom, something like blue backpack and green chairs is meaningful to you. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), with so many characters, it would take about 1,050,000 times more effort to crack this passphrase than the ten-character password, even without numbers and symbols. With a bit of tweaking, the passphrase my1bluebackpack&6greenchairs makes for an excellent passphrase.

What term matches the following definition?

To give permission, for example, to access information.

What method of computer access control only grants user access after presenting several separate pieces of evidence? This can be done by asking questions, providing an ever changing code, fingerprint, face scan, or hardware key.