New password policy takes effect September 15

It’s a 21^st century fact of life: You need to change your password.

SUNYIT’s new password policy, announced over the summer, takes effect September 15. That’s when existing passwords will no longer be effective—and all users will have to adopt new ones that meet more secure standards.

“The reason for the new policy is simple,” said Andrew Bellinger, interim director of information technology services. “It takes a hacker only a matter of minutes to crack a 6-letter password. Increasing the number of characters in SUNYIT passwords, making them more complex and changing them at least annually will help secure email and important institutional information.”

Each new password will have to meet the following criteria:

* At least eight characters, using at least two of these character groups: English uppercase letters A through Z, English lowercase letters a through z, characters such as !, $, #, %

* At least one number (0-9)

* Cannot contain the user’s name or account name

* Must be different from passwords used in two previous password cycles

From now till September 15, new users will be prompted to create passwords that meet the new standards. Starting September 15, all users will be required to change their SUNYIT password to conform to the new policy and at least once a year thereafter.

Questions? Please contact the help desk, ext. 7440, or submit a ticket at helpdesk.sunyit.edu.