Passwords are an essential part of modern life. Whether we are in the workplace or at home, many of us will provide a password each day to access our accounts. Creating a new password can be tricky, it needs to be something you can remember but also difficult for others to guess.
When updating your IT account password in , you will notice we use a set of requirements to help you create a strong password 鈥� this is in place to help protect your account and the systems used at the University. A similar approach can be adopted for all your accounts.
Creating a strong password
When creating a new password, use the following best practices to help protect your accounts:
- Use three random words 鈥� the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) suggest combining to create a single password. For example, 鈥減honeglassespaper鈥� is a much stronger and longer password than using something that many people may already use such as 鈥淧@sSw0rd!鈥�.
- Avoid using the 鈥� In 2019, the NCSC found 鈥�123456鈥� appeared in more than 23 million passwords! Cyber criminals can usually guess 鈥�123456鈥� or 鈥減assword鈥�. You should also avoid using details that can be found on your social media account, such as your birthday, special dates or your pet!
- Stay away from re-using the same password across multiple accounts 鈥� If a password to access an important account is stolen by a cyber-criminal, they will most likely try and use it on your other online accounts.
Your university password
- Remember the University will never ask for your password, so you shouldn鈥檛 give it to anyone even if they ask.
- When updating your password in Subscribe, the University will alert you if you are trying to use a password which has already been identified in a password breach on the internet.
Further support and advice
- Staff and PGRs, if you haven鈥檛 already done so, please ensure you complete the . Please feel free to take the training again if you would like to refresh your cyber security awareness.
- If you do have any cyber security related questions or concerns, please contact ServiceLine who will be able to support you.
- More information can be found on the .