In October, the University of South Alabama Office of Information Security (InfoSec) will recognize and participate in National Cyber Security Awareness Month (NCSAM). NCSAM is a month out of the year in which the cybersecurity professional community comes together to focus on cybersecurity and encourage others to exercise proper cyber hygiene. The Department of Homeland Security and the National Cyber Security Alliance have sponsored NCSAM since its inception in 2004.
From mobile to connected home devices, technology is becoming more intertwined with our lives everyday. And while the evolution of technology is moving at the speed of sound, cybercriminals are working just as hard to find ways to compromise technology and disrupt personal and business life. Cybersecurity Awareness Month aims to highlight some of the emerging challenges that exist in the world of cybersecurity today and provide straightforward actionable guidance that anyone can follow to create a safe and secure digital world for themselves and their loved ones.
For 2024, USA InfoSec will focus on the implementation and importance of two factor authentication. This is an important layer of security that can be enabled on most online accounts with minimal effort. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a security process that requires two different forms of verification before granting access to an account or system. It typically involves something you know (like a password) and something you have (like a smartphone or security token).
Throughout the month of October, the InfoSec team will visit various sites on campus between the hours of 11am and 1pm, to include Shelby Hall, Allied Health, and the USA Student Center. During these events, the InfoSec team will hand out free t-shirts that reflect this year’s theme, and will encourage our students and employees to enroll themselves in Multi Factor Authentication.
For more information about Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2024 and how to participate in a wide variety of activities, visit staysafeonline.org/cybersecurity-awareness-month/. You can also follow and use the official hashtag #SecureOurWorld or last year’s hashtag #BeCyberSmart on social media throughout the month.
5 Phishing Red Flags
- Request for passwords
- Suspicious links or attachments
- Sense of urgency
- Poor grammar
- Unusual addresses
Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2024
| Number of Characters | Number Only | Lowercase Letters | Upper and Lower Case Letters | Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters | Numbers, Upper and Lowercase Letters, Symbols |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 4 | Instantly | Instantly | 3 secs | 6 secs | 9 secs |
| 5 | Instantly | 4 secs | 2 mins | 6 mins | 10 mins |
| 6 | Instantly | 2 mins | 2 hours | 6 hours | 12 hours |
| 7 | 4 secs | 50 mins | 4 days | 2 weeks | 1 month |
| 8 | 37 secs | 22 hours | 8 months | 3 years | 7 years |
| 9 | 6 mins | 3 weeks | 33 years | 161 years | 479 years |
| 10 | 1 hour | 2 years | 1k years | 9k years | 33k years |
| 11 | 10 hours | 44 years | 89k years | 618k years | 2m years |
| 12 | 4 days | 1k years | 4m years | 38m years | 164m years |
| 13 | 1 month | 29k years | 241m years | 2bn years | 11bn years |
| 14 | 1 year | 766k years | 12bn years | 147bn years | 805bn years |
| 15 | 12 years | 19m years | 652bn years | 9tn years | 56tn years |
| 16 | 119 years | 517m years | 33 tn years | 566tn years | 3qd years |
| 17 | 1k years | 13bn years | 1qd years | 35qd years | 276qd years |
| 18 | 11k years | 350bn years | 91qd years | 2qn years | 19qn years |
9qn 1