With AI entering the game, the time to brute force passwords has been reduced significantly already and continues to be reduced.
ADVERTISEMENT. Password guidelines and rules have not changed all that much for users in the past ten or so years, however.
Pick unique and strong, which means long and complex, passwords, and you are good to go.
While rules are relatively simple, especially when used in combination with a password manager, many Internet and computer users still do not follow them.
They use passwords repeatedly or pick weak passwords that allow threat actors to crack them in a matter of seconds.
Brute force and dictionaries: two common attacks against passwords.
Dictionary attacks use lists of passwords, often those found in leaks, as it is fast method to crack a percentage of passwords quickly.
Brute forcing refers to trying any combination of a character set, say all numbers, upper- and lower-case letters on a password.
Researchers at Hive Systems have updated the organization's password cracking chart to reflect advancements in computing power and security.
An 8 character password consisting only of numbers is cracked by the setup in 37 seconds.
Change that to lowercase letters, and the time increases to 22 hours.
With everything included, it is taking the machine 7 years in worst case to crack the password.
To find out how secure, or insecure, a password is, count its characters.
This is the time it would take Hive System's machine to crack the password.
Even if the time looks fine on this chart, it may not be fine if more powerful machines target the password.
Password recommendations 2024 Always include numbers, upper and lowercase letters, and symbols, provided that the app or service supports this.
Pick 16 or more characters, again provided that the service or apps support the number.
Since it is impossible for most users to remember lots of unique 16 character passwords, it is recommended to use a password manager.
Certain attacks may reveal passwords without need to brute force or crack them.
Find out how long it would take to crack your passwords in 2024.
This Cyber News was published on www.ghacks.net. Publication date: Thu, 09 May 2024 14:43:06 +0000