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 2022, USA InfoSec will focus on strengthening passwords used to protect our accounts and information. The tools used by cybercriminals to crack passwords and compromise accounts are rapidly improving, and password length and complexity best practices that were deemed sufficient just a couple of years ago now offer little to no protection.
Every Friday in October, the InfoSec team will be at the USA Student Center from 11am – 1pm to hand out free t-shirts and to encourage students and employees to create stronger passwords. We will also have laptop computers with us to assist in changing passwords on site, and everyone who creates a stronger password consistent with current best practices will be entered into a weekly drawing to win USA t-shirts, hoodies, or other gear.
For more information about Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2022 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 #BeCyberSmart on social media throughout the month.
Time It Takes a Hacker to Brute Force Your Password in 2022
| 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 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly |
| 5 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly |
| 6 | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly | Instantly |
| 7 | Instantly | Instantly | 2 secs | 7 secs | 31 secs |
| 8 | Instantly | Instantly | 2 mins | 7 mins | 39 mins |
| 9 | Instantly | 10 secs | 1 hour | 7 hours | 2 days |
| 10 | Instantly | 4 mins | 3 days | 3 weeks | 5 months |
| 11 | Instantly | 2 hours | 5 months | 3 years | 34 years |
| 12 | 2 secs | 2 days | 24 years | 200 years | 3k years |
| 13 | 19 secs | 2 months | 1k years | 12k years | 202k years |
| 14 | 3 mins | 4 years | 64k years | 750k years | 16m years |
| 15 | 32 mins | 100 years | 3m years | 46m years | 1bn years |
| 16 | 5 hours | 3k years | 173m years | 3bn years | 92bn years |
| 17 | 2 days | 69k years | 9bn years | 179bn years | 7tn years |
| 18 | 3 weeks | 2m years | 467bn years | 911tn years | 438tn years |