NIST recommends a minimum of eight characters for passwords, but you should try to choose much longer passwords or entire pass phrases.

“Complex” passwords (passwords containing mixed case, numbers, and other symbols) aren’t as important as longer ones. The longer your password is, the stronger it is (so long as you can remember it).

In this guide, we'll go into detail about how password hacking works, talk about how to remove security vulnerabilities at the application level, take a look at what attackers do with stolen passwords, and share tips and tricks for creating a secure password that's hard to crack. While password hacking can have severe consequences, it's relatively easy to defend against. When it comes to password hacking, however, the term typically refers to attackers who will use the passwords they uncover to exploit further vulnerabilities in an application or a server or steal user data. A Guide to Defending Against Password Hackingĭespite what Hollywood movies show us, the word 'hacking' isn't synonymous with malicious intent, and many hackers are ethical in their actions. For this reason, it's important to have a solid understanding of password hacking whether you're an application developer or a user of a website who wants to make sure your password is strong. While strong passwords go a long way to ensuring data security and confidentiality, insecure passwords make an attacker's job easy. Passwords are a key element of security and a familiar hurdle for anyone who's ever set up an account on a website, downloaded and installed an application that will track their private information, or otherwise done just about anything with an electronic device.

User password hacking