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New password standards to take effect Jan. 4

If your e-mail password doesn’t look like something a toddler produced on your keyboard, it might be too simple to meet the state’s new security standards.

Enterprise Technology Services announced earlier this year a move to make ITD’s passwords standards comply with new policies and guidelines of the state’s Information Technology Resource Management Council (ITRMC).

The new standard requires the use of stronger passwords to “ensure adequate protection of citizen information in an increasingly more complex and hostile technology environment,” ETS explains.

ITD requires that all e-mail users begin using higher-security passwords by Jan. 4. On that date, e-mail and network passwords should include the following:

a. Each of your last 12 passwords must be unique. This changes from 10 today.
b Maximum password age 90 days. No Change
c. Minimum password age one day. No Change
d. Minimum password length eight characters. Changes from six today.
e. Your password cannot contain your user name, and must contain at least three of the following:

i. Upper case letters
ii. Lower case letters
iii. Numeric 0-9
iv. Special characters (! @ # $ % ^ & * ( ) [ ] { }, etc.)

f. Your account will be locked out after five unsuccessful attempts to enter your password, instead of the three failed attempts now allowed

g. Amount of time your account will be locked out after five password attempts is 15 minutes, which remains the same as current lock-outs

h. When logging on to your computer, your user name will not be remembered from the last one that was entered. You will need to enter your user name each time you log-on. That is a change from the current standard in which user names are retained from the previous log-on.

Also beginning Jan. 4, computer screens will automatically lock after 20 minutes of inactivity. To get back to your screen, you will need to re-enter your user name and password.

Employees who have questions about the changes should contact the Service Center at 334-8175.

Related information:

How to create strong passwords
The ITD password standard