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Today is the official “change-your-password-day”. We would like to take this opportunity to once again draw attention to the importance of password security and have prepared a few tips for you.

Because hand on heart – when was the last time you changed your passwords?

Basically, we should not rest on the fact that everything has always gone well so far. You can do a few things yourself to make your passwords more secure and thus protect your data better – both professionally and privately.

Important Tips for Good Passwords

A new password for your accounts is no guarantee for a better password security, because: It should be particularly hard to crack.

To create a password that is as secure as possible, you should pay special attention to the following five points:

1. Your password should contain a good mix of upper and lower case letters as well as special characters and numbers. Additionally, a password length of at least 10 characters is recommended – the longer, the better!
2. A password should not contain any personal data, as this is considered particularly risky. Data such as date of birth or names are often used but are not particularly difficult to guess.
3. Your creativity has limits? Nevertheless, a single password for multiple accounts is not a good idea either. If your password is hacked, all your accounts and profiles are at risk. A password generator can help you create a variety of passwords.
4. Which brings us directly to the next point. The passwords of a password generator are usually so cryptic that it is difficult to remember them. Therefore, it is advisable to use a password manager. Password managers are management programs for usernames and passwords that work like a digital key ring. This keychain is protected by a single complex master password. Advantage – you only need to remember one password. You can find more information about password managers on the website of the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI).
5. Another tip is to reassign your passwords from time to time. Of course, the quality of the passwords should not suffer. However, you should think about updating your passwords after 5 years at the latest.

So take today’s “change-your-password-day” as an opportunity to increase the protection of your data. Feel free to use some of our tips for better password security.

And if all else fails and you can’t remember your own password, you can also use the password reset function in many applications. In most cases, you will receive an e-mail with a corresponding link.

The Password Reset Function in IdM Selfservice

A similar function is offered by our password reset for the IdM Selfservice.

There you have the possibility to set a new password before logging in with the RWTH Single Sign-On in IdM Selfservice or to have your username sent to you. After logging in to the RWTH Single Sign-On account, you can then manage your passwords for all other RWTH accounts in IdM Selfservice.

Responsible for the content of this article is Morgane Overath.

Kategorie: General, Fun & Facts, IT-Security, IT-Managers, Employees, Students
Schlagworte: IT security, IT-Security, passwort, PasswortReset, Passwortsicherheit, SafetyFirst
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