Security on our Minds

Security is always on the minds of the Databranch Engineering team, and October 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. Databranch 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:

  1. Uppercase letters
  2. Lowercase letters
  3. Numbers
  4. 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:

  1. Substitute symbols for letters. For example, use @ instead of a, ! instead of i, or $ instead of s.
  2. Substitute numbers for letters. For example, use 0 instead of o or 3 instead of E.
  3. 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.
  4. 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:

  1. For someone with a dog named Rover: MyD0g!sRover (My Dog is Rover)
  2. For someone that wants to lose 10 pounds: L0se10Pound$ (Lose 10 Pounds)
  3. For someone looking forward to vacation: V@cati0nInAugu$t (Vacation in August)
  4. 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!