ITCS strengthens requirements forKerberos passwords

Is your UMICH Kerberos password "GoBlue"? Some members of the University community will receive a notice today (June 9) from Information Technology Central Services (ITCS) Accounts Office with the message that their UMICH Kerberos password is guessed easily and should be changed.

ITCS, in collaboration with IT Security Services, performs a bi-annual audit of UMICH Kerberos password strength on an offline database. The weakest passwords, which are often simple dictionary words, create vulnerabilities that can be exploited by malicious attackers who seek access to University networks and data.

While all schools, colleges and other units recommend that users choose a stronger password, some will disable accounts after a month on July 7 if the weak password is unchanged. To reinstate the account, the user must contact the ITCS Accounts Office. Individual users will be notified by e-mail with more information on their school's approach.

"By creating a strong password, individual students, faculty, and staff can contribute significantly to a safer computing environment for themselves as well as for the larger campus network," says Alan Levy, manager, ITCS Communications. "This collaborative effort is designed to reduce the prospects of malicious attacks on the U-M computer network or of members of the U-M community becoming victims of identity theft."

To change your password, go to accounts.itcs.umich.edu/kpasswd-bin/kpasswd.cgi.

For further questions on the password audit, contact the ITCS Accounts Office at itcsao@umich.edu or (734) 764-8000, option 1.

Secure passwords • Use at least nine characters containing a mix of upper- and lower-case letters, numbers and common punctuation • Do not use words out of the dictionary • Do not use personal information To learn more about choosing a secure password go to www.itd.umich.edu/itcsdocs/r1162/ or www.microsoft.com/protect/yourself/password/create.mspx For information on managing passwords go to www.safecomputing.umich.edu/tools/security_shorts.html.

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