When employees leave the organization, change the passwords for their accounts.Use multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible to mitigate the security risks of stolen and mishandled passwords.Users (and applications) must not store passwords in clear text or in any easily reversible form, and must not transmit passwords in clear text over the network.Enterprise applications must protect stored and transferred passwords with encryption to ensure hackers won’t crack them.Enterprise applications must support authentication of individual user accounts, not groups.Instead of editing the default settings in domain policy, it is recommended to create granular password policies and link them to specific organizational units.Īdditional password and authentication best practices.This can be done with the free Netwrix Password Expiration Notifier tool. Create email notifications for password expiration.Track all password changes using a solution such as Netwrix Auditor for Active Directory.For domain admin accounts, use strong passphrases with a minimum of 15 characters. Reset service account passwords once a year during maintenance.Reset local admin passwords every 180 days. This can be done with the free Netwrix Bulk Password Reset tool.This setting can be disabled for passphrases but it is not recommended. Enable the setting that requires passwords to meet complexity requirements.Enforce password history policy with at least 10 previous passwords remembered.Passwords that form pattern by incrementing a number or character at the beginning or end.Any of the above followed or preceded by a single digit.Usernames or host names used as passwords.Default or suggested passwords, even if they seem strong.Words that can be found in a dictionary.The same character typed multiple times like “zzzzzz”.The user’s phone number or license plate number, anybody’s birth date, or other information easily obtained about a user (e.g., address or alma mater).A string of characters appearing sequentially on the keyboard, like A user’s given name, the name of a spouse or partner, or other names.A string of numbers or letters like “1234” or “abcd”.Easy-to-guess passwords, especially the phrase "password".It’s wise to use discourage or prohibit the following passwords: Passwords especially susceptible to brute force attacks Therefore, the current NIST recommendation on maximum password age is to ask employees to create a new password only in the case of a potential threat or suspected unauthorized access. While strategies to prevent password reuse can be implemented, users will still find creative ways around them. However, changing passwords too often irritates users and usually makes them reuse old passwords or use simple patterns, which hurts your information security posture. Previous NIST guidelines recommended forcing users to change passwords every 90 days (180 days for passphrases). Accordingly, NIST recommends encouraging users to choose long passwords or passphrases of up to 64 characters (including spaces). Password length, on the other hand, has been found to be a primary factor in password strength. However, the benefit of these rules is not nearly as significant as expected, and they make passwords much harder for users to remember and type. Many organizations require passwords to include a variety of symbols, such as at least one number, both uppercase and lowercase letters, and one or more special characters. The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) offers Digital Identity Guidelines for a sound password policy, including the following recommendations: Password complexity and length Starting from Windows Server 2008 domain functional level, you can define fine-grained policies for different organizational units using the Active Directory Administrative Center (DSAC) or PowerShell. TThe default domain password policy is located in the following Group Policy object (GPO): Computer configuration -> Policies -> Windows Settings ->Security Settings -> Account Policies -> Password Policy In Microsoft Active Directory, you can use Group Policy to enforce and control many different password requirements, such as complexity, length and lifetime. How to set password policy in Active DirectoryĪ strong password policy is any organization’s first line of defense against intruders. Password Policy Best Practices for Strong Security in AD.
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